Chapter 5
Neigh!
The owner stopped the carriage in front of the sheriff’s office and looked around in confusion. It was broad daylight, yet there were no deputies guarding the front, and the door was locked. As he climbed down and peeked through the window, Jaei followed and stretched. His whole body ached from sitting on the hard seat.
Thud. Thud thud.
“Is anyone there?”
He knocked several times, but there was no response. The owner turned to Jaei and shrugged, as if he couldn’t make sense of it.
“It’s usually open until five in the afternoon.”
“Could something have happened in town?”
“Who knows. Let’s wait a bit. Over there, in the shade.”
“Alright.”
Before anything else, they needed money. Unless something unusual had happened, someone would show up soon enough. Jaei and the owner crouched under the shade of the office roof and gnawed on dried meat—the rabbit meat the wife had prepared.
“By the way… it’s called Mollibay, but I don’t see any water. And there aren’t as many people as I expected.”
Jaei muttered, watching a tumbleweed roll by. The wind was cold, but the sunlight felt scorching. So this was the weather of the West. The owner stuffed the remaining meat into his mouth and replied.
“If you go about twenty minutes further in, you’ll see it. And of course you don’t see people. The sun hasn’t set yet.”
Did people only come out at night? Just as Jaei was about to ask—
A man in a faded jacket approached the office. Spotting them, he frowned.
“Hey. That your carriage?”
“Oh, are you with the security force?”
The badge on his chest made it obvious. The owner stood up with relief, but the man casually jerked his chin toward the carriage.
“Don’t park it here. Sheriff’ll lose his mind if he sees it.”
“My apologies. We’ll unload the bodies and move it.”
Creak.
As the man opened the office door, he looked the two up and down.
‘Bodies? Bounty hunters? These days, even bringing a kid along? What a world… tch.’
As the owner tried to follow him inside, the man stopped him with a hand gesture—don’t cross the threshold.
“No. We’re not taking submissions for now.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. No body submissions. Come back in half a month. That’s when the subsidy comes in.”
The man grabbed a small wallet from inside and locked the door again. The owner, flustered, blocked his path. He had heard of cases being delayed due to identity verification—but refusing to even accept submissions?
“Wait. I don’t understand why. And half a month? If the bodies rot, how are you supposed to identify them?”
“Preserve them well until then. You expect us to take care of that too?”
The man chuckled, lightly slapping the owner’s cheek. It was blatant mockery. The owner cursed under his breath and slapped his hand away.
It happened in an instant.
Click.
The man drew his gun.
“Get lost. Or should I clear out your ears with a bullet?”
The owner hesitated—but didn’t step back. These corpses were worth 170 dollars. Money needed for repairs, and for his wife’s trip to Dallas. He couldn’t afford to wait half a month.
As the tension escalated—
‘What a crazy world. Everything ends with a gun.’
“Excuse me—”
Jaei stepped in, rolling up some bills and slipping them into the man’s chest pocket while glancing at his badge.
“Deputy Mac, I see. You seem busy. Let’s not waste each other’s time. Let’s end this here.”
“Hah.”
Mac looked between the money, the owner, and Jaei. Maybe those two didn’t notice—but behind curtains, townspeople were secretly watching.
With a mocking tilt of his gun, he whispered to the owner.
“Be grateful for your kid. Keep quiet. If I see you again, you’re dead.”
Ptooey!
Mac spat on the owner’s clothes and walked past.
As the sound of hooves faded, Jaei sighed and leaned against the wall.
‘Security force? That’s just a thug.’
No way he acted like that without backing. The entire organization was probably the same. The owner wiped the spit off his clothes and grumbled.
“…Why’d you let him go?”
“What else? You wanted to take a bullet?”
“He wouldn’t kill civilians for nothing.”
“As a deputy, maybe not. But if he said he shot two ‘suspicious men loitering near the sheriff’s office,’ that’s a different story.”
The owner rubbed his face and sighed. He didn’t want to admit it, but Jaei was right. If he had kept resisting, things would’ve escalated.
“And from what he said, come back in half a month, right? That’s when the subsidy comes.”
“…Yeah.”
“That means they’re not accepting submissions because they’re out of budget. It’s a decision from above. No point wasting time on a low-level guy.”
Jaei brushed off his coat and climbed onto the carriage, tapping the seat beside him. Time to move.
“You’re leaving? What about the money?”
“When did I say I’d give it up?”
This was over 2,000 dollars. No way he’d abandon that. Jaei looked at the locked office and muttered.
“First, we gather information—about the sheriff and Mollibay. You can’t argue without knowing anything. And—”
“And?”
If this was the only place bounty hunters could cash in, then the way it was run would naturally cause complaints. If used properly, that dissatisfaction could work in their favor.
“…The sun’s too hot. The bodies will rot.”
The owner looked at him. Surprisingly, everything he said was reasonable. He climbed onto the carriage.
“Then we’d better store the bodies underground.”
“You know a place?”
“Never been, but I heard about one. From Lux.”
“We owe him quite a bit.”
“Before that, let’s take care of something nearby. There’s a general store.”
They planned to sell the valuables taken from the bodies and the carriage. The money they had wouldn’t last long in Mollibay. Jaei extended his hand.
“…What?”
“3 dollars. The money I gave Mac earlier.”
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
“That was your life I paid for.”
“Then pay me back for the rabbit you ate!”
“If you want, I’ll pay your wife directly.”
Clicking his tongue, the owner eventually handed over the 3 dollars.
***
“Can’t you give me a little more?”
“No, I said no! These things aren’t even popular anymore!”
“How are they not? Everyone walking by has one!”
“Then go sell it to them!”
“Come on, just a bit more. I’m in a tight spot. I’ll buy you a drink later.”
“You think you’re the only one who says that here?”
27 dollars and 7 cents. That was what they got after selling everything except one revolver. Jaei ignored the owner arguing with the shopkeeper and looked out the window.
‘…Definitely different from daytime.’
As the sun set, the streets filled with people. Closed bars lit up, women in tight dresses smoked in groups, and music echoed everywhere. Even the cheap neon signs sparkled.
“Jaei, let’s go.”
“Finished?”
“Yeah. That stingy bastard fought me over one dollar. Disgusting.”
Ding!
Grumbling, the owner left the store.
“Looks like people really sleep during the day and move at night.”
“Half the people here work in service. Anyone traveling between East and West passes through here. And it’s cooler at night.”
“That makes sense.”
“Stay sharp. Pickpockets and scammers are everywhere.”
Jaei walked close beside him, gripping his money tightly. 30 dollars and 7 cents—his lifeline.
“So what now?”
“What do you mean?”
“The bodies. The inn wants 3 dollars per body per night for basement storage.”
“That’s insane! Who’d pay that?”
“It’s steep. Especially when we pay 1 dollar each to stay. They already know the sheriff’s office is closed. Prices will only go up.”
“Damn vultures.”
The inn had a particularly cool basement, which explained the high cost.
‘No refrigeration in this era… Either reduce storage costs or increase money.’
As Jaei pondered—
Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out. He instinctively tensed, expecting trouble—but it was different.
A young man waved his hat, drawing attention.
“Step right up! If anyone dares challenge me, the greatest gunslinger in Mollibay—Libero—I’ll gladly accept!”
Ting!
He tossed a coin into the air, hesitated theatrically—
Bang!
The coin fell to the ground, bent in half. As Libero picked it up, the crowd cheered.
The owner narrowed his eyes.
“See? Told you. Scammers everywhere.”
The coin he showed and the one he shot were different. It was sleight of hand, not skill.
“Wow, amazing! As expected of Libero!”
“Blonde, green dress. She’s with him.”
“No one can beat him. Not even Chamberlain!”
“That one too. Either a gang or a family of con artists.”
The owner tried to leave, but Jaei grabbed his sleeve and stepped forward.
“You threw a different coin, didn’t you?”
A man from the crowd spoke up. Libero raised his hands innocently.
“Then why don’t you challenge me? I’ll even roll up my sleeves.”
“Well… not exactly…”
Either he was bold—or extremely skilled with his tricks.
“Is there truly no one who can defeat Libero? I’ll double whatever you wager! Please, give me a challenge!”
“I’ll do it.”
Jaei cut him off and stepped forward.
The crowd’s attention shifted instantly. Libero looked him up and down.
“You will?”
‘Doesn’t look like he has much… can he even shoot? Still, better than talking alone.’
Jaei reached into his coat and pulled out a bundle of cash.
“30 dollars.”
Libero, who earned barely 1 dollar a day, widened his eyes.
And at the same time—
His hidden accomplices in the crowd held their breath.