Surviving as a Gunslinger in Wild West

At <Maktanota>, the largest bar in Mollibay. Libero had been absentmindedly, mechanically mopping the floor.

To think that overnight he had failed to even salvage a single pair of underwear and had fallen into the state of a beggar.

He couldn’t believe it.

The one saving grace was that he could temporarily rely on the bar where his older sisters used to work.

He had been given some clothes that had been shoved away in the storage room and a space where he could curl up and sleep.

In exchange for working at the bar for 16 hours a day.

“······Welcome.”

“Hey, Libero.”

It was Jaei.

He hadn’t been seen since that day—what brought him here?

Libero moved the mop aside and greeted Jaei.

“Where have you been? Not that I’m in any position to worry.”

“I had something to take care of for a bit. A stagecoach came from Wells Fargo.”

“Ah, so that’s why people were flocking over there yesterday. Even the owner here left to go see money. Meanwhile, I was stuck mopping all day, completely out of touch with what’s going on. Haah, so, did you receive it well?”

“I did. Paid off all my debts with it and even ate meat for the first time in a while.”

“Lucky bastard. In that case, lend me 100 dollars.”

“One cup of herbal tea. Drinking alcohol in broad daylight doesn’t feel right.”

‘Tch, he completely ignored me! Thinks he’s so great.’

Grumbling, Libero went inside to prepare the tea, and in the meantime, another customer entered.

It was James, who had just finished handling corpses at the sheriff’s office.

He spotted Jaei and lightly waved his hand.

“Well, well, the youngest tycoon. Your story’s all over town.”

“It’ll pass soon enough. How was the job?”

“No issues. But no matter how I think about it, it’s a shame. Of all things, they got shot in the head, tsk. If not for that, we could’ve taken a thousand dollars each.”

The bounty on the Tomdiz brothers was 500 dollars per person.

Muttering regretfully, James handed Jaei 250 dollars.

Glancing at him, he asked casually.

“By the way, I heard something interesting at the sheriff’s office.”

“What?”

Jaei raised an eyebrow as he counted each bill.

“They said the Backbaind California branch has been asking around about you. The sheriff was wondering what it’s all about.”

“Ah.”

250 dollars. It was exact.

Jaei tapped the bills and shook his head as if it were nothing.

“It’s already over. No need to worry.”

Over?

James’s eyes narrowed.

Jaei, who had brought in Roldiori Max’s corpse, the Tomdiz who had appeared in Mollibay, and the Backbaind train company’s inquiries.

Rubbing his chin, James pieced things together.

‘The Tomdiz definitely came to Mollibay asking about Jaei. Both Roldiori Max and the Tomdiz are infamous train robbers—maybe they were planning a job together, and Jaei ruined it?’

Without realizing it, James frowned slightly.

There was definitely something interesting here.

‘The closest railway to Mollibay belongs to Backbaind, so Jaei must’ve known in advance and reported it to the company.’

He didn’t know how Jaei found out, but that didn’t matter.

What mattered was Jaei’s remark: ‘it’s over.’

Since both Roldiori Max and the Tomdiz, who targeted the train, were dead, it made sense.

And that meant—

‘Once the reported date passes safely, there’s a moment when vigilance suddenly drops.’

He pulled out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and hummed.

Though 250 dollars was a large sum, there wouldn’t be much left after paying off his debts.

He didn’t have anything specific in mind right now, but opportunities come to those who are prepared.

In one way or another, it was best to always have money-making ideas in mind.

Leaning on the chair, James lowered his upper body.

“Jaei, so, have you made any plans for that money?”

“First, I’m planning to buy a house.”

“A house? Got a place in mind?”

“No, not really.”

At Jaei’s answer, James burst into loud laughter.

He laughed so hard that people in the bar openly stared.

“What’s so funny?”

“Come on, isn’t it obvious? Land is everywhere—why pay money to buy it? Unless it’s something meaningful.”

Jaei immediately sensed something strange in the conversation.

From his common sense as someone from South Korea, it was natural to pay for a house and land.

But this was the West.

A place where common sense didn’t apply.

“Not confident you can stake a claim and hold out for six months?”

It was a government policy to promote western expansion.

If you settled for a certain period, property rights were granted—so why pay money to buy someone else’s land?

America was vast, and land waiting for owners stretched as far as the eye could see.

Even if someone already occupied land you liked, what was the problem?

You could just kill them.

“It’s better to hire people if you want to push out the natives.”

At James’s hint, Jaei immediately understood how the West operated.

‘I see.’

From the Americans’ perspective, it was practically ‘empty land,’ so whoever planted their flag first claimed it.

“······I want somewhere somewhat developed.”

As he said, to claim property rights, living there for a certain period was essential.

But he didn’t want to suffer in some barren wasteland full of horse dung.

As a modern person, Jaei needed a certain level of culture, healthcare, and economic infrastructure.

Not to be happy, but to avoid being unhappy.

‘The best would be New York.’

Without question, the center of the world and the most prosperous city.

If he bought land and buildings in central New York, he could live without worries for life.

No—why stop at his life?

His children, their children, and beyond could all fully enjoy the beauty of life.

‘But the problem is that getting there won’t be easy.’

It was possible, but not an easy decision to make right away.

Even if he took a train to the central regions, he had heard that after the Mississippi River, travel had to continue by land.

Setting aside natives and outlaws, the thought of catching all sorts of diseases during the journey made him hesitate.

‘After New York, the next city in America is California. LA has Hollywood, and the famous wealthy district Beverly Hills. If the East is too hard to reach, California would be more than enough.’

Watching the deeply pondering Jaei, James tapped the table.

As if telling him to stop thinking and listen.

“Instead, I know a good gold investment spot in California. It’d be much better to put your money there than waste it elsewhere.”

At those words, Jaei made up his mind again.

It would be best to leave Mollibay quickly.

Now that it was known he had money, flies like this would swarm endlessly.

“No. I’m fine.”

“It guarantees half your principal as profit every year. You won’t find something like this easily. I’m telling you since you helped catch the Tomdiz.”

“······If it’s that good, you should do it yourself, Mr. James. Especially now that you have capital.”

“Me? Of course. I’m putting all of this in.”

James smirked and waved the 250 dollars, but Jaei knew better.

The moment he left here, he’d head straight to gamble.

There’s a saying—gamblers will gamble even with their toes if their fingers are cut off.

He was grateful for the help, but not someone he wanted to be close to.

‘A gambling addict, a con artist’s nature, and—’

The cruelty of splitting open a corpse’s head without hesitation.

Just as Jaei was about to shake his head to end the conversation—

Thud!

“Here’s your herbal tea.”

Libero placed the herbal tea in front of him.

It was quite unfriendly to bring it in the kettle, but Jaei gestured for Libero to come closer.

“Thanks. Here’s a tip.”

“Th-thank you—”

Libero’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

One, two, three······.

It was a thick bundle of money, too much to count standing there.

He stared at Jaei with his mouth wide open, and Jaei smiled.

“What? Too much?”

“No, this—why—what are you?”

“I’m not giving it. It’s the price of the life of the guy who ruined your house. Total comes to 250 dollars.”

“2, 250 dollars? Who? Who ruined my house?”

“Why do you keep asking? If you got the money, just cheer.”

Libero stared at the bundle in disbelief, then his eyes welled up.

What kind of rollercoaster was life?

Just moments ago, he only wanted to die.

Now he felt like stripping his shirt off and dancing.

Taking a deep breath, he drew a cheer from deep within.

“Waaah! Jaei, thank you! Seriously, thank you!”

“That’s enough.”

Jaei simply sipped his tea.

If Libero learned the details, it would only become troublesome.

It wasn’t his intention anyway, and he had compensated more than the damage.

That was enough.

Libero climbed onto the bar and began jumping up and down.

“Hahaha! The world is beautiful! I, Libero, will never die! Kim Jaei is a god! Damn, thank you so much! God! I’ll live kindly from now on!”

“Hey, shut up. Stop yelling and get back to serving. Have you lost your mind, you bastard employee?”

“I’m not an employee, you drunk idiot! If you want a drink, pour it yourself!”

“Oh, really?”

“Really or not, who cares! Hahaha! I feel great!”

***

“Why is it so noisy downstairs?”

Meanwhile, on the second floor of <Maktanota>.

Pinkerton agents drinking there frowned and turned around.

Someone was shouting loudly—it seemed like something had happened.

A man sitting at the end stood up and headed down the stairs.

“I’ll go check.”

“Bring more whiskey on your way back.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

It was supposed to be a celebration for completing their mission, but the atmosphere was heavy.

Naturally so.

They had lost several colleagues in the sudden attack by the Tomdiz, and the thousands of dollars they had risked their lives to protect ended up in the pocket of a kid named Kim Jaei.

“How old did you say he was?”

“Who? Kim Jaei? Seventeen, I think.”

“Unbelievable. Some people drown in debt until thirty, and some kid picks up a corpse and gets thousands.”

“If I’d known, I would’ve just kept hunting instead of taking a Pinkerton job.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same.”

It was the path they had chosen.

Whether to risk everything walking the line between poverty and jackpot, or settle for a stable high income.

They had been quite satisfied being part of Pinkerton, but seeing Jaei’s near life-changing case drained their motivation.

“By the way, about that account—does the person have to go in person?”

“Why are you curious about that?”

“No reason. Just wondering.”

“Forget it. Don’t get any funny ideas. Hartman will throw a fit again.”

“That bastard acts like he’s so great. Once this job’s done, he won’t be a leader anymore anyway.”

3200 dollars.

The small kid named Kim Jaei possessed 3200 dollars.

All sorts of thoughts flickered through the Pinkerton agents’ minds, then faded.

‘He really was a great shot. How did he only blow off heads from that distance?’

‘Doesn’t seem like he has much cash. No plans to withdraw from the account? If so, then somehow······’

Only the quiet sound of sipping whiskey echoed.

Then, the agent who had gone downstairs returned and whispered.

“Kim Jaei is downstairs.”

“Who?”

“Kim Jaei. With the guy who split the corpse’s head.”

“With that much money, why come to a place like this?”

“Ruins the taste of whiskey, tsk.”

As they muttered irritably, the man sitting in the middle suddenly stood up.

“I have a good idea.”

“What is it?”

“A way to squeeze some money out of Kim Jaei. Who’s in? The more people, the better.”

Though his staggering gait didn’t inspire confidence, the men readily responded.

“What is it? Let’s hear it.”