Chapter 54
A few days later.
“Emma, there’s Justice Town.”
We disembarked at Salt Lake City Station, the train's terminus, and got horses from Uncle Lloyd to head to Justice Town, where our home was.
And then….
After several days of travel, the edge of Justice Town finally came into view.
“We arrived faster than expected. I thought it would take another day.”
“Yeah, Uncle Lloyd gave us good horses, so we got here quickly.”
By the way, Uncle Lloyd said he had business in the East and simply transferred trains and left.
“He said we’d meet again, so I suppose we will someday.”
“He was a kind man. He helped us get out of San Francisco, lent us horses, and even returned the Boss’s money from the last poker game.”
“Emma, I told you, I won that fair and square!”
I was the winner of the last big game, right before we arrived in Salt Lake City.
Thanks to that, I was able to recover the money I'd lost gambling during the train journey.
The result….
[Logout Unavailable]
[Remaining amount until logout: 905,863$ / 1,000,000$]
This trip to San Francisco ended with me earning a little more money than I had before I left.
And naturally, I had no intention of being satisfied with just that.
“Then, Boss. Are you planning to return to the office first? We should also check if Noname is doing well…”
“Ah, it’s fine. Noname probably arrived safely. More importantly, we have somewhere to go.”
“Somewhere to go? Where on earth…”
I grinned at Emma, who was tilting her head, and pointed to the opposite side of Justice Town.
“We went through hell this time, so we have to go collect the rest of our payment.”
“…Huh? Oh…”
Emma’s expression stiffened as she finally understood what I meant.
The Capulet Family’s Tobacco Farm is run by Josephine’s Dad, William.
This was my second time coming to this estate, which was almost larger than Justice Town itself.
I’d come once before, after accepting the request, to see Josephine’s portrait.
And this place was still….
“Hurry up, hurry up!”
“If you don’t harvest your quota for today, you won’t eat!”
White overseers were working the Black servants like slaves.
*‘This is like before Emancipation, or something.’*
Clicking my tongue at the sight, I headed towards William’s Mansion, and then….
“Huh? W-what the…!”
A white man burst out from inside, his voice filled with surprise.
He was someone I’d seen once before.
So, with a bright face, I greeted him warmly.
“Hello there—! You remember me, right? I’m that Bounty Hunter who went all the way to San Francisco through hell for a job that was impossible to succeed at in the first place!”
“W-wait a minute. Showing up this early without an appointment is rude…”
“Oh, so I’m supposed to come humbly and politely when I’m here to collect money?”
“W-what…?!”
He tried to stop me from entering the mansion, but when I threatened him by showing the holster under my coat, he had no choice but to reluctantly follow behind me.
“You were the butler here, right? What was your name again?”
“I am Jansen, the Capulet Family’s Coachman and Butler. But this is truly problematic…”
“Mr. William is inside right now, isn’t he? I need to see him directly to get my money.”
“…Actually, the master isn’t here right now! He went to a relative’s house. It’ll probably take a few days!”
“It’s fine. I do well in houses without owners.”
“That’s not the point…!”
Creak.
As I opened the mansion door, Black maids who were cleaning looked at me with surprised eyes.
And among them….
…
…
There were also white gunslingers sitting on the sofa, watching me warily.
Stomp.
“…Hey, who are you?”
The gunslingers, sensing something amiss from Jansen’s expression, followed behind me.
I ignored them and searched for William.
And then….
“W-what the….”
I found William leisurely drinking tea in the Drawing Room.
I, too, cheerfully raised my hand to greet William.
“Hello! You remember me, right? I’ve come to collect my money!”
“Y-you…”
He seemed to recognize my face, then frantically put down his teacup and shouted.
“This is my private property! You are trespassing on my land! W-what are you doing?! Get this man out of here!”
Flash.
Hearing William’s words, the white gunslingers immediately drew their guns.
But….
Bang, bang—!
…!
My Quick Draw was faster, knocking the guns from their hands.
…
As I precisely knocked their guns away without even turning my body, the atmosphere grew tense as they recognized my skill.
At that moment, I was acting as if I were furious, which made the air in the room even colder.
No? I actually *was* pissed off.
*‘This son of a bitch.’*
*‘How dare this NPC try to use me by tempting me with money?’*
I absolutely could not forgive him.
Perhaps sensing my mood, William raised both hands above his head with an awkward smile.
“Ha, haha… …My apologies. I apologize. I was so startled that I made a mistake.”
“…It was a mistake, right?”
“Of course it was a mistake! Hey, everyone…! Indeed, this man is someone I hired, so put your guns away!”
“…Yes, yes.”
The gunslingers’ guns were already on the floor, but they fumbled to pick them up and put them back in their holsters.
Seeing that, I also put my gun away, and William, relieved, asked me.
“…So, you came to collect money? Then, naturally, the request must have been successful, right?”
“Where is my daughter, Josephine? Show me Josephine’s face, and I’ll give you 10,000 dollars. If you killed the *darkie*, I’ll give you 20,000 dollars.”
William’s face held a subtle confidence as he said this.
William seemed to assume I had naturally failed the request.
…And indeed, I had failed.
But I wasn’t without words.
I grinned and said to William.
“How could I have succeeded in a request that had no chance of success in the first place?”
…
“And, you know. I met some other people chasing your daughter, and they were Outlaws.”
…!
“Did you hire Outlaws to find your daughter? And you just planned to use me as a meat shield?”
Hiring Outlaws privately, who should face the Judgment of the Law, was, of course, illegal.
William, his face hardening, asked me.
“…Do you have proof that I hired them?”
“I do. I’m the witness.”
“If you’re trying to threaten me with just that…”
“Ah, that’s not how I intended to threaten you…”
Click.
…!
Without anyone noticing, I drew my gun and aimed it at William’s forehead.
“*This* is how I intended to threaten you.”
“Th-this crazy bastard…!”
Seeing that, the gunslingers behind him tried to draw their guns, but….
“Draw that, and you all die.”
…!
They froze like statues at my chilling voice.
Perhaps strong in a crisis, William was surprisingly the calmest person there.
“Are you in your right mind—! I-if you pull that trigger, you’ll become an Outlaw too! Do you want to live your life being hunted?!”
“Considering the hell I went through in San Francisco, I might as well just pull the trigger and become an Outlaw—what do I care?”
…
William soon realized I was serious and shut his mouth.
Realizing that he was now ready to talk, I smoothly began to state my main point.
“Alright, so let’s negotiate without any bloodshed. Isn’t money for situations like this?”
William was quick-witted.
“…How much will it take for you to overlook my mistake this time?”
“20,000 dollars.”
“…Are you crazy?”
William, aghast at the audacious sum, began to negotiate.
“2,000 dollars. If you agree to that, I’ll give it to you right away.”
“Bullshit.”
“…3,000 dollars.”
“Oh, come on.”
“…Hmph, then let’s talk again another time. I didn’t sleep well last night, you see. …My head aches, so it’s not easy to talk.”
“I don’t want to.”
When I replied as if to tease him, William cried out indignantly.
“I don’t even have that much cash on hand right now!”
“Oh, come on, you’re rich.”
“No matter how rich someone is, who keeps piles of cash in their mansion? Everyone puts it in the bank!”
*‘Ah, is that so?’*
Justice Town doesn’t have a bank.
And to get to the nearest bank, we’d have to go all the way to Lexio County, which is a week’s journey from here.
“…I’ll have someone fetch the money first. Then we can talk again. How about that?”
…
William’s words were quite persuasive.
So, I pondered for a moment, then….
Swoosh.
I lowered the gun I had aimed at William.
“…Lexio County is a week away, so I’ll give you a week. I’ll come back then.”
“…A wise decision.”
“I hope my impatience doesn’t lead me to climb over your fence tonight. Let’s go, Emma.”
“…Yes, Boss.”
With that, I turned and headed outside with Emma.
…
…
The white gunslingers twitched their hands, but in the end, they didn’t draw their guns.
Stomp.
As I was leaving the Drawing Room with Emma, I then….
“Ah.”
I turned around and said one last thing to William.
“Josephine and the *darkie* have gone far away.”
“…What?”
“You’ll probably have to cross the Pacific Ocean to find them.”
…
“Well then, goodbye.”
There was a burning rage in William’s eyes, as he watched me leave.
**
“Boss, are you crazy—!!”
Emma, who had been quiet in William’s Mansion, erupted as soon as we stepped outside.
“This is blackmail and trespassing—! We’re the ones committing an illegal act!”
“I know.”
“…Huh?”
When I calmly nodded at her words, Emma asked again with a blank expression.
I kindly replied to Emma.
“I know that. But we have to get the money somehow, don’t we?”
…
I was determined to get paid for the hell I went through in San Francisco, no matter what.
And if I had been polite, William would never have given me the money.
Emma, understanding my intentions, said with an incredulous tone.
“…No, Boss. You’re going to become an Outlaw ‘again’ at this rate.”
“…Again?”
“…No, that’s not what I meant.”
…
“I’m sorry.”
As Emma quickly apologized, I waved my hand, reassuring her.
“It’s fine. I’m an expert at walking a fine line. I’ll definitely stay within the bounds.”
From the start, I had little expectation of getting the full 20,000 dollars from William.
But initially, I had to ask for a high amount for William to pay a significant sum, whether it was 10,000 or 15,000 dollars.
“Phew… boss, You have to keep your promise not to cross the line. I can’t work for a Boss who’s a fugitive.”
Still, Emma seemed uneasy, so she grabbed my hand and pleaded earnestly as she mounted her horse.
I followed Emma as she mounted the horse in front of her, and said.
“I really will stay within the bounds. But… I think *they’re* the ones who are going to cross the line, not me.”
“…Huh?”
I remembered William’s last look at me.
It was a look of such fury, as if he wanted to tear me to shreds.
Perhaps he’d rather gather all the gunslingers in the vicinity and quietly dispose of me than hand over a few thousand dollars.
In the West, the way to make money from a Vicious Civilian is to provoke him or her into crossing the line first.
I took one last look back at William’s Mansion and said to Emma.
“Rich people in movies always have Secret Safes somewhere in their mansions, filled with gold bars and money. I wonder if William has one too?”
“…Movies?”
“They exist. All right, since our business here is done, let’s head back.”
Clatter.
I grabbed the reins, anticipating William would quickly cross the line.