Chapter 54 - You'll Become An Outlaw "Again" at This Rate

A few days later.

"Emma, Justice Town is over there."

We got off at Salt Lake City Station, the train's final stop, borrowed horses from Uncle Lloyd, and headed towards Justice Town where our home was.

And...

After a journey of several days, we finally began to see the edge of Justice Town.

"We arrived faster than expected. I thought it would take one more day."

"Yeah, we arrived quickly because Uncle Lloyd provided us with good horses."

By the way, Uncle Lloyd changed trains and left for the East, saying he had business there.

"He said we'd meet again, so we'll probably see him someday."

"He was a kind person. He helped us escape San Francisco, lent us horses, and even returned money to you in the last gambling round."

"Emma, I told you I won that fair and square."

I was the winner of the last big round just before arriving at Salt Lake City.

Thanks to that, I was able to recover my original stake lost during the train journey gambling at the end.

As a result...

[Unable to log out]

[Remaining amount until logout: $905,863 / $1,000,000]

This San Francisco trip ended with me earning a small amount more than before I left.

And of course, I wasn't planning to be satisfied with just this.

"Then, Boss. Are you planning to return to the office first? We should also check if No Name is doing well..."

"Ah, it's fine. No Name 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 in the opposite direction of Justice Town.

"We suffered a lot this time, so we should go collect the remaining payment."

"...Pardon? Ah..."

Emma's expression hardened as she soon understood what I meant.

***

The Capulet family's tobacco plantation ran by Josephine's father, William.

It was the second time coming to this place with land almost larger than Justice Town.

I came once before to accept the request and see Josephine's portrait.

And this place was still...

"Hurry up, won't you?"

"If you don't finish today's harvest, you know you won't eat!"

White overseers were working black servants like slaves.

This isn't even before the abolition of slavery.

Clicking my tongue at such sights, I headed towards William's mansion and...

"Huh? W-what...!"

With a flustered voice from inside, a white man rushed out.

He was someone I had seen once before.

So I greeted him cheerfully with a bright face.

"Hello~! Remember me? I'm that bounty hunter who went through hell all the way to San Francisco for a request that couldn't possibly succeed in the first place!"

"W-wait. It's rude to come at such an early hour without an appointment..."

"What, should I come humbly and politely when I'm here to collect money?"

"W-what...?!"

He tried to stop me from entering the mansion somehow, but when I threatened him by showing the holster inside my coat, he had no choice but to follow behind me.

"You were definitely the butler here, right? What was your name again?"

"It's Jansen, coachman and butler of the Capulet family. But really, this is troublesome..."

"Is Mr. William inside now? I need to see him directly to receive the money."

"...Actually, the master isn't here right now! He went to a relative's house. It might take a few days!"

"That's fine. I'm good at staying in houses without owners."

"That's not the problem...!"

Creak.

When I opened the mansion door, black maids cleaning looked at me with surprised eyes.

And among them...

"..."

"..."

There were also white gunslingers sitting on the sofa with wary eyes.

Step.

"...Hey, who are you?"

The gunslingers, sensing something was off from Jansen's expression, followed behind me.

I ignored them and searched for where William might be.

And...

"W-what..."

I could find William leisurely drinking tea in the reception room.

I raised my hand and greeted him cheerfully too.

"Hello! Remember me? I've come to collect money!"

"Y-you..."

He seemed to recognize my face, and soon put down his teacup with flustered gestures and shouted.

"This is my private property! You're trespassing on my private property! W-what are you doing!? Drag this man out!"

Whoosh.

Hearing William's words, the white gunslingers immediately drew their guns.

But...

Bang, bang—!

"...!"

I quick-drew first and knocked the guns out of their hands.

"..."

"..."

When I accurately knocked only their guns away without even turning my body, they confirmed my skills and the atmosphere became tense.

At that time, I was pretending to be very angry, so the air here became even colder.

No? Actually, I am pissed off.

This bastard.

How dare an NPC try to use me by tempting me with money?

I can’t forgive him at all.

Noticing my mood, William raised both hands above his head with an awkward smile.

"Ha, haha... I'm sorry. I apologize. I was just so surprised that I made a mistake."

"...It was a mistake, right?"

"Of course, it was a mistake! You guys...! This friend is indeed someone I hired, so put away your guns!"

"...Y-yes."

The gunslingers' guns were already on the floor, but they hurriedly picked them up and put them back in their holsters.

Seeing that, I put my gun away too, and William asked me with relief, "...So, you came to collect money? Then I assume you succeeded with the request?"

"..."

"Where's my daughter Josephine? If you show me Josephine's face, I'll give you $10,000. If you killed the negro too, I'll give you $20,000."

William's face showed subtle confidence as he said this.

William seemed to think I had obviously failed the request.

...And in fact, I did fail.

But I did have something to say.

I grinned and said to William:

"There's no way I could have succeeded in a request that had no possibility from the start, right?"

"..."

"And you know. I met other people chasing your daughter, and they were outlaws."

"...!"

"Did you hire outlaws to find your daughter too? Was I just meant to be cannon fodder?"

Privately hiring outlaws who should be judged by law was obviously illegal.

At this, William asked me with a hardened face, "...Do you have evidence that I hired them?"

"I do, I'm the witness."

"If you're trying to threathen me with just that..."

"Ah ah, I wasn't planning to threaten you like that..."

Click.

"...!"

I drew my gun without anyone noticing and aimed at William's forehead.

"I was planning to threaten you like this."

"Y-you crazy bastard...!"

Seeing this, the gunslingers behind tried to draw their guns, but...

"If you draw those, you all die."

"...!"

They froze like statues at my cold voice.

Surprisingly, the calmest one in this situation was William, perhaps strong in crisis.

"Are you in your right mind! I-If you pull that trigger, you'll become an outlaw! Do you want to live being chased for the rest of your life?!"

"Considering how much I suffered in San Francisco, I might as well pull the trigger and become an outlaw."

"..."

Soon William seemed to realize I was serious and closed his mouth.

Knowing that we were now in a state to talk, I started to speak about the main point glibly, "Now, let's negotiate without bloodshed. Isn't this why you have money?"

William was quick-witted.

"...How much will it take for you to just overlook my mistake this time?"

"$20,000."

"...Are you crazy?"

Shocked at the straightforward amount, William started to negotiate.

"$2,000. If you okay here, I'll give it to you right away."

"Bullshit."

"...$3,000."

"Come on."

"...Haa, then let's talk again later. I didn't sleep well yesterday, you see… My head hurts, it's not easy to talk."

"I don't like that."

When I answered as if teasing him, William shouted as if wronged, "I don't have that much cash right now!"

"Come on, you're rich."

"Even if I'm rich, who keeps cash piled up in their mansion? It's all in the bank!"

Ah, is that so?

There was no bank in Justice Town.

And to get to the nearest bank, we'd have to go to Lexio County, which was a week's journey from here.

"...I'll have someone fetch the money for now. Let's talk again then. How about that?"

"..."

William's words were quite persuasive.

So after thinking for a moment...

Swish.

I lowered the gun I was aiming at William.

"...It's a week to Lexio County, so I'll give you a week. I'll come back then."

"...You've thought well."

"Pray that I, who lacks patience, don't climb over your fence at night. Let's go, Emma."

"...Yes, Boss."

With that, I turned around and headed outside with Emma.

"..."

"..."

The white gunslingers twitched their hands but didn't draw their guns in the end.

Step.

As I was leaving the reception room with Emma like that...

"Ah."

I turned around and gave William one last word.

"Josephine and the negro have gone far away."

"...What?"

"You'll probably have to cross the Pacific to find them."

"..."

"Well then, goodbye."

The last look in William's eyes as he watched me was filled with fiery anger.

***

"Boss, are you crazy!?"

Emma, who had been quiet in William's mansion, started nagging as soon as we got outside.

"This is threatening and trespassing! We're the ones committing illegal acts!"

"I know."

"...Pardon?"

As I calmly nodded at her words, Emma asked back with a blank expression.

I kindly answered such an Emma, "I know. But we need to get the money somehow, don't we?"

"..."

I was planning to somehow get compensation for suffering in San Francisco.

And if I had come nicely, William would never have given me money.

Emma, understanding my intention, said as if dumbfounded, "...No, Boss. You'll 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 and reassured her.

"It's okay. I'm a tightrope walking master. I'll definitely keep within the line."

From the beginning, I had little expectation of being able to receive all $20,000 from William.

But if I start high, William would give out a non-insignificant amount such as $10,000 or $15,000.

"Haa… Boss. You must keep your promise not to cross the line. I can't work under a fugitive boss."

Still anxious, Emma held my hand and pleaded as she got on the horse.

I got on in front of Emma and said, "I'll really keep within the line. But... doesn't it seem like they might cross the line instead of me?"

"...Pardon?"

I remember William's last look as he watched me.

He looked like he wanted to tear me apart, he was so angry.

He'd probably rather gather all the gunslingers in this area to quietly dispose of me than give me a few thousand dollars.

In the West, the way to make money from vicious civilians was to induce the other party to cross the line first.

I looked back at William's mansion one last time and said to Emma, "In movies, rich people always have secret vaults somewhere in their mansions where they pile up gold bars or money. I wonder if William has something like that?"

"...Movies?"

"There's such a thing. Well then, now that we've finished our business, let's go back."

Clop clop.

I grabbed the reins, hoping William would quickly cross the line.