Chapter 23
Jaei took a deep breath as if he had made up his mind.
Doctor Hans glanced at him over his glasses, but Jaei ignored it and bit down on a towel.
“What a peculiar young man. It would be much easier if you used painkillers.”
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say his entire forearm had been torn up.
It wasn’t severe enough to require stitches, but the pain was undoubtedly intense.
Hans soaked gauze with disinfectant and wiped over the wound.
“······!”
Jaei writhed in pain and bent forward at the waist, and Hans firmly grabbed his arm to hold it in place.
For an old man with white hair, his strength was astonishing.
As the veins in Jaei’s neck bulged, Hans muttered as if he found him foolish.
“I told you to use painkillers. I’d even give you a discount.”
“······I’m fine.”
“Then endure it a bit longer.”
In an instant, his whole body was drenched in cold sweat.
At the moment when his vision began to turn yellow, Hans tapped Jaei’s shoulder as if he was finished.
“That’s it for today. Still, there’s less discharge than yesterday. Keep it disinfected. It’d be better to observe it for a few more days.”
“······Is it over?”
“Yes. If you change your mind, tell me anytime. There are good things in this world, yet you choose to suffer. Tsk tsk.”
Hans clicked his tongue as he packed up his medical bag.
Of course, if possible, Jaei would have liked to rely on painkillers.
If only the words ‘opium’ and ‘morphine’ hadn’t been written on the labels.
Exhausted, Jaei collapsed onto the sofa, and Libero, who had been watching from behind, saw Hans out.
“Thank you for your work, doctor.”
“Libero, try persuading your friend if you can. He’s not some native smearing herbs on himself—why is a young man so averse to painkillers? At least make him drink whiskey.”
“Yes, sir. See you tomorrow.”
After closing the door, Libero immediately poured whiskey and set it beside Jaei.
“Listen to the doctor. If you’re going to be like this, why pay so much for treatment?”
Jaei alternated his gaze between the whiskey and Libero.
Damn this Wild West.
He had just realized it now, but the level of medical care here was hard to accept as someone from modern times.
Look at this—even though he had a fever from the wound, they were offering him whiskey.
“······I won’t drink it.”
“You’re ridiculous. Suit yourself. It tastes good, though.”
Unless he was truly on the verge of death, Jaei decided to endure it to the end.
Even in modern times, narcotic painkillers were problematic—how much worse would it be here?
‘At least it’s just an abrasion. If it had been a gunshot wound—’
The mere thought was terrifying.
This was a world where a barber’s chair served as an operating table.
No matter what happened, he resolved never to get injured again, even as his mind grew hazy.
“By the way, Doctor Hans really is the best in Mollibay, right?”
What kind of doctor only does dressing and nothing else?
Libero downed the rest of the whiskey and answered,
“Of course. He used to be a pastor.”
Jaei didn’t understand what being a pastor had to do with being a doctor.
Having no strength left to question further, he fell asleep just like that.
“Guh-huuurk! Uraaah!”
……How much time had passed?
Jaei frowned and woke up to loud sleep-talking.
The culprit was Libero, fast asleep in the inner room.
He was grinding his teeth hard enough to break them—it wasn’t normal.
‘What time is it.’
The sun was still hanging in the sky.
Even though he hadn’t slept long, his condition felt surprisingly light.
As he sat up, the lukewarm wet cloth on his forehead fell with a soft thud.
It seemed Libero had placed it there.
Rustle.
Jaei sat blankly for a moment before rummaging under the sofa.
The bundle of $800, laundered after paying fees to Libero and the gambling house, was hidden in a gap.
Libero had likely hidden his own $147 fee somewhere in the house.
It was an unspoken courtesy until Jaei opened a bank account.
Though, since it was such a large sum, it was also because they couldn’t fully trust each other.
Creak.
He took the money and draped on his poncho.
Then he carefully stepped outside and whistled.
From afar, Onyx, who had been grazing, ran over happily.
Hiiiing!
“Easy. Let’s go to the market for a bit.”
There was a lot to do.
Pay off Onyx’s debt, change his seal, buy a new hat and poncho, and above all—
‘A gun. I need a better gun.’
He had painfully realized that offense was defense, and defense was survival.
Being careful with his left arm, Jaei mounted the horse and soon disappeared toward the market.
And the moment he vanished, a donkey came running from the opposite direction.
Clatter, clatter.
It was the fourth Tomdi.
Scratching his fake mustache, he pulled out a newspaper.
It was a Mollibay local paper, and on the front page, the Boyd–Woodburn gang incident was printed in large letters.
Below that was the death of Roldiori Max.
After entering town, it had been very easy to learn everything that had happened.
‘Max is dead, and it’s because of some guy named Kim Jaei.’
The name itself was unusual, but the incident had been so big that there was no one in Mollibay who didn’t know Jaei.
After entering a nearby bar and asking around, he quickly found the inn where Jaei had stayed, and then learned that he had moved to the house of someone named Libero.
Tomdi stood on tiptoe to peek inside the window.
“Hmm.”
A man was fast asleep on the bed.
Is that Jaei?
“Let’s see, let’s see.”
Humming to himself, Tomdi rummaged through the donkey’s load.
It was also common knowledge that the Wells Fargo stagecoach was heading to Mollibay.
If you combined Max’s $2000 bounty with the bank’s capital, it was a job worth several thousand dollars.
If things went well, it could be more profitable than robbing a train!
‘Heh heh.’
He grinned as he pulled out a small stick of dynamite.
Revenge for Max?
Nothing like that—he just wanted to eliminate at least one person who could track them after they robbed the stagecoach.
Sss—
He struck flint to spark a flame and lightly shook the lit bomb.
As the fuse began to burn, the words of the arrow-struck woman flashed through his mind.
‘Come to think of it, that crazy woman mentioned $980, didn’t she? That’s the same as the Ractover bank loss. Then could it be her?’
Ssssss—
“Whoops!”
Lost in thought, Tomdi realized the fuse had nearly burned out and hurriedly stuffed it through a hole in the newspaper.
Then, moving his short legs quickly, he mounted the donkey and fled at full speed.
After he had put dozens of meters between them, a loud explosion rang out as Libero’s house blew apart.
KABOOOM!
***
Ding—!
“Welcome—oh. Ahem. It’s you, Jaei.”
“Hello. Sorry to interrupt your meal.”
“No, not at all. Looking for something?”
Jaei first visited the gun shop at the entrance of the market.
The owner, who had been chewing a sandwich, hurriedly wiped his mouth at the sound of a customer.
“I’m looking for a gun with the highest possible capacity and capable of rapid fire. These are the two I currently have.”
A Colt Single Action Army, commonly called the Peacemaker, and a Sharps rifle.
They held six and two rounds respectively.
To minimize reload time and balance offense and defense, high capacity and rapid fire were essential.
The gun shop owner fiddled with a gun and asked curiously,
“We don’t have anything here with a higher capacity than those. Are you looking to modify the firing speed? Occasionally, bold customers request that, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You never know when it might blow up and take your wrist with it.”
“If you don’t have it here, does that mean other places do?”
“Well, if you go to a big city like California, sure. Something like a Volcanic can hold about ten rounds.”
“What about more than that?”
“How much more? A Gatling gun or something?”
The shop owner meant it as a joke, but Jaei seriously thought it might not be a bad idea.
If he acquired an estate, having one for security wouldn’t hurt.
“Where can I get one?”
“A Gatling gun? Hahaha! Ask the government army. They’re the only ones supplied with it.”
He stuffed the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and looked at Jaei, asking if he needed anything else.
Jaei nodded toward the box of bullets.
“Give me revolver and rifle ammunition.”
“Sure. How many cartridges?”
“Give me everything you have.”
The shop owner froze.
Everything? Each box had over a hundred rounds.
So the rumors were true after all.
“Did you have some luck at the gambling house?”
“Yes, something like that. Where did you hear that?”
Though he said that, Jaei knew Libero had been spreading the word around town.
If an investigation came later, it would be easier if the story was already aligned.
“I’ll take one cartridge with me. Deliver the rest to Libero’s house.”
“Yes, understood. I’m jealous!”
“You’ll get a good hand soon too.”
Some people struggled their whole lives without even touching $100, while others became wealthy with thousands at a young age.
It felt unfair, but what could you do?
The owner told him to wait a moment and went into the storage, and Jaei looked around the shop as he waited.
Clatter, clatter!
Suddenly, urgent noises came from outside.
“Over there! Middle Street!”
“Someone go report to the security force! Damn it!”
“Line up close together! We’re carrying water!”
What was going on?
Jaei lifted the blind slightly and looked out at the street.
People were running toward one direction carrying large buckets.
Toward Libero’s house.
Sensing something was wrong, Jaei stepped outside, and Onyx shook its head wildly.
“Fire! Fire!”
“Everyone gather!”
Clatter, clatter!
In the distance, thick black smoke billowed upward.
Startled, Jaei immediately mounted Onyx, and the gun shop owner, who had been bringing out cartridges, quickly locked the door and ran toward Middle Street.
“One, two! One, two!”
“Move! Someone’s hurt!”
Since most of Mollibay was made of wood, if a fire wasn’t contained early, it would become disastrous.
This wasn’t someone else’s problem.
“Libero!”
As he got closer, there were too many people to move easily.
Jaei got off Onyx and looked around.
The place where flames were rising—it was definitely near Libero’s house.
“No—”
What the hell happened here?
Just as Jaei carefully tried to push forward with his injured arm—
Tap.
Someone grabbed his shoulder.
It was Libero, wearing nothing but underwear, covered in ash.
Startled, Jaei stepped back.
“Wh-what, why, what—”
“Jaei, this is really, really messed up. Sniff.”
“Libero. Are you okay?”
“No, damn it, I was sleeping and suddenly something exploded, then the ceiling collapsed, everything caught fire—I barely managed to run out, but you weren’t there, and I couldn’t go back in, sob… I thought you were dead.”
Libero muttered, tears and snot dripping down his face.
For someone who had been drunk and asleep, he had escaped surprisingly well.
Jaei took off his poncho and handed it to him.
“I went out for a bit. Still, I’m glad you’re safe. This is some terrible misfortune.”
“Yeah. At least we’re alive, but… haah.”
“What’s wrong? Your sisters?”
“No. Not that.”
Libero let out heavy sighs and slumped down.
“Damn it, my $147… I hid it under the roof, damn it. And you too, even if you’ve got money, $800 is… well, I guess you’re better off than me. Still, it must sting. Yeah.”
“Ah.”
Jaei hesitated, unable to say that he had brought his money with him.
But who was Libero?
At that brief reaction, his mouth dropped open in shock.
“Y-you, you took the money?”
“······I went out for business.”
“······Ugh!”
Libero, unable to accept reality, clutched the back of his neck and collapsed.
Jaei moved him to the side so he wouldn’t get trampled and covered him with the poncho.
‘More importantly… an explosion.’
There was a kerosene heater, but it hadn’t been used in Libero’s house and had been put away.
Just in case, Jaei drew his revolver.
Sss—
As expected, the barrel pointed the way again.
This wasn’t the wasteland, but Mollibay, so it would be less troublesome than before.
Leaving the unconscious Libero behind, Jaei followed the direction of the gun into the alley.