Chapter 3: Welcome to the Noah Bounty Hunter Office.

“Wow~ Thanks, Jo. Thanks to you, I was able to move the body comfortably.”

“No problem. Hehe.”

Jo, a Hispanic guy working as a coachman in Justice Town, is a very diligent and kind person.

How lucky I was to meet someone like him along the way.

Fortunately, I was able to load the bodies onto Jo’s carriage and arrive home comfortably.

“Alright, Noah. We’ve arrived.”

“Noah Bounty Hunter Office.”

“We catch the bad guys.”

This is my home and office.

Usually, bounty hunters wander around the West chasing outlaws without a home…

But knowing that Justice Town is a honey pot hunting ground, I decided to settle here and create both a house and an office.

“Thanks, Jo. By the way, since you’ve come all the way here, could you help me unload the bodies?”

“Oh! Of course, I’ll help! But, um, Noah…”

“Hmm?”

Jo cleared his throat and subtly rubbed his fingers together.

“The thing is, I haven’t been doing so well financially lately…”

I quickly understood what Jo’s gesture meant.

Since he helped carry the bodies this far, he was asking for a tip.

“The rumor in town is that Noah is rolling in cash from bounties. So, uh… if you could, ahem…”

“So what? Oh, you want some money?”

“If you just show a little goodwill, I’d really appreciate it… ahem, cough.”

So, I smiled widely at Jo and said…

“Of course I’ll give you something! I’ll treat you to something!”

“Really?!”

Clink.

“I’ll give you your life.”

I pulled out my pistol from my pocket.

When something unexpected came out instead of money, Jo was startled and forced a laugh as he spoke.

“…Ah, haha! …Ahahaha! Noah! You’re going a bit overboard with the jokes!”

“Oh really? Was it too much?”

“Yes…! Haha, it was a bit much…”

“Does it seem like a joke?”

Jo quickly unloaded the bodies from the carriage and bowed to me.

“As neighbors, how could I take money from you? …You can just go.”

“Just as I thought! Haha~! You really are a kind person, Jo!”

“…Then I’ll take my leave now.”

I waved goodbye to Jo and made one last request.

“Ah, Jo! Could you call the sheriff on your way back? I’d appreciate it!”

“…Huh? I need to go to Lincoln County now? The sheriff’s office is on the other side…”

“Will you do it?”

Jo started to sweat and then smiled widely, nodding willingly.

“…Ah, of course. I know how much you do for the peace of Justice Town, so I’ll definitely do it…”

“Wahaha! Thanks for saying that, Jo! Have a great day today!”

“Yes…! You have a good day too, Noah…!”

With that, Jo set off with a smile.

Jo really is a good person.

In this harsh and unkind frontier era, he shows such consideration.

“…That reckless kid, someday I will….”

I felt like I heard Jo’s mutterings on the wind, but I waved goodbye to him as he left.

And as Jo’s carriage departed, I dragged the bodies with both hands and thought…

“Should I go inside now? Ah… I’m so damn tired…”

I trudged back home.

“Hehe.”

***

“No Name… Hmm, did I feed you yesterday?”

My horse, No Name, greeted me from the stable.

I named the horse No Name simply because I was too lazy.

I was going to call it Horsey or Horsey Girl, but since I didn’t know its gender, I just went with No Name.

I patted No Name roughly and tossed the bodies in front of the stable before heading inside the house.

Clunk.

“Welcome back.”

While No Name greeted me outside, a neatly dressed cool beauty welcomed me inside.

“Oh, Emma, you came in early.”

“The boss came back late.”

This cool beauty’s name is Emma.

She works as my secretary at the office.

I don’t remember her last name, and I think she’s around 20 or 21 years old.

Has it been about two years since we started working together?

I didn’t really need a secretary, but she begged me to let her work when I opened the office, so I reluctantly accepted.

Thanks to that, I’m making good use of her on a cheap passion pay.

“Did you organize all the bounty posters?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Did you feed No Name?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Did you clean my bed?”

…………I don’t know why that’s the secretary’s job, but since you asked me to, I did it.”

“Oh? Then, do you want to lie down together?”

“Please get lost.”

“Heh.”

Actually, one reason I accepted Emma as a secretary was that she was the prettiest NPC I’d ever seen.

I had thought about charming her and trying to have a go, but she was so cold that it stung my pride.

Since coming into Noah’s body, I hadn’t failed to charm a girl, but she was so unyielding that it hurt my ego.

I planned to do something about it someday, but it seemed today was not the day.

I clicked my tongue and started talking about work.

“I caught the outlaws. They’re outside, so get out the wanted posters for the Marcos brothers.”

“The Marcos brothers, huh? You’ve captured some pretty big names. Understood.”

“Oh, and besides those three, I caught one more.”

When I pulled Jake MacGuffin’s wanted poster out of Marcos’ back pocket and handed it to her, Emma responded in surprise.

“Jake MacGuffin… I’ve never heard of this outlaw before.”

“Of course, you haven’t. I got this wanted poster from the sheriff’s office just yesterday.”

“What? So you ran into him just one day after getting the poster?”

“Yeah, that’s how it happened.”

“Wow, should I call it luck or bad luck…”

While Emma clicked her tongue, I handed her the wanted poster and lay down on the bed.

Maybe it was because the whiskey at the Deaf Pub was all cheap stuff, but my hangover was terrible.

I figured I’d leave the clean-up to Emma and get some sleep.

“Ah… I had Joe go get the sheriff, so he should be here soon. When the sheriff arrives, hand over the bodies and collect the bounty.”

“Joe went to fetch the sheriff? …You didn’t make him run errands by harassing the good townsfolk again, did you?”

“Oh, come on~ When have I ever bothered people? Joe volunteered to do it first, so I couldn’t say no. What do you take me for?”

‘What do I take you for? A thug, obviously…’

“What?”

“…Nothing.”

Something sounded strange, so I lifted my head, but Emma had already turned away in a huff.

‘That brat, she’s been getting cheeky lately.’

In this savage era of the Wild West, where could you find a boss with modern sensibilities like me?

In a time when women didn’t even have the right to vote, I gave her the freedom to work, and now she’s acting all rebellious towards me, her boss. Tsk, tsk.

“Hmph, I don’t like this.”

I deliberately said it loud enough for Emma to hear, then turned my body.

And just as I was about to close my eyes…

Step.

“Hm?”

I heard the sound of someone walking toward my office.

‘About 150 meters away?’

Thanks to the [Superhuman Senses] skill I’d added during customization, my senses were sharper than anyone else’s.

Step, step.

Whoever was walking… they were definitely heading towards our office.

“Who’s coming?”

“…Pardon?”

I sat up in bed and said that, but Emma, tilting her head, listened and responded with confusion.

“…I don’t hear anything.”

“My hearing’s always been sharp. I can even hear your stomach growling from not eating breakfast.”

Leaving Emma, who was blushing, behind, I focused my hearing again.

Step, step, step.

“Could it be the sheriff?”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

It wasn’t time for the sheriff to arrive yet.

“Then, maybe it’s a client coming to hire us.”

“That’s possible.”

We’d set up the office to take on bounty hunter jobs.

Sometimes, clients would come with wanted posters and rewards for outlaws.

But my gut was telling me this person approaching wasn’t a client.

“I’ll go check who our visitor is.”

“Boss, why are you taking your gun…?”

“You never know. It might not be a client.”

Emma gasped and shouted at my words.

“Boss! Be careful about identifying targets! If you accidentally kill a client…!!”

“Don’t worry. After a quick talk, I can tell if someone’s a client or an outlaw. Relax.”

“…Uh?”

Leaving behind Emma, who seemed confused, I went out the back door.

“I’ll have a nice chat with the visitor, so just work on those documents.”

To be honest, whether the visitor was a client or an outlaw didn’t matter to me.

Either way, they would make me money.

‘I didn’t earn much this month, but today’s haul should be good.’

With that thought, I smiled and went to greet the visitor.

Step, step.

Someone was sneaking toward the office.

[Noah’s Bounty Hunter Office.]

[We Catch Bad Guys.]

“…Putting up a sign like this? Are they begging to get killed? Crazy.”

His name was Marv Merchins.

He was an outlaw wanted for stealing cattle with his partner in Texas.

For stealing a mere 50 cattle, the state government put a bounty on him and his partner.

His partner ended up being killed by a bounty hunter.

‘Don’t worry, Harry. I’ll avenge you.’

The bounty hunter who killed Marv’s partner Harry was known around here as “Kid.”

Marv planned to shoot Kid in the head to avenge Harry and…

…To rob him of his considerable wealth, too.

But…

“Damn it, what the…?!”

Marv, who had been sneaking up to Kid’s office, was startled when he saw four corpses lying in front of the stable and let out a gasp.

“Gasp…”

He quickly covered his mouth, realizing he’d made a loud noise.

Fortunately, no one in the office seemed to have noticed.

‘Could it be no one’s here…? No, but what about these corpses? Are they outlaws Kid captured…?’

Step.

Marv, calming his pounding heart, cautiously approached the door.

Creak…

As he slowly opened it just a crack, he could see…

‘What the…?’

Sitting at a desk was a stunningly beautiful woman.

Marv had never seen such a beautiful woman in his 30 years.

But why was a woman here in Kid’s office?

Wait a minute…

“Is that Kid’s wife? Damn, I’m so jealous. No wonder he’s loaded.”

“I’m not married yet, and I don’t plan to be.”

“Huh? Then if you’re not his wife, are you…? Wait a second.”

Realizing something odd, Marv turned his head to the side…

“I’m not his girlfriend either, but I’m trying to seduce him. It’s not going well, though.”

A man, smiling as if he were chatting with an old friend, was squatting next to Marv.

After casually sharing his story, he looked at Marv and asked.

“What’s the problem, stranger? Do you think I’m ugly?”

With a handsome face, fair skin, a lean yet muscular build, and notably dark circles under his eyes…

There was no doubt about it.

This guy was Kid—the bounty hunter who had killed Marv’s partner, Harry.

And…

This madman wasn’t even pointing a gun at Marv.

In the West, no matter what the situation, you couldn’t afford to be startled.

“…You’re not ugly at all. But your attitude is a bit too aggressive. Women are like buffalo—you can’t just force them.”

“Then what should I do?”

“You’ve got to be gentle, like you’re handling a baby.”

Marv calmly started offering advice.

If he rushed and fumbled for his gun, there was a chance he’d miss his shot or worse, fail entirely.

The key was patience and composure.

Only those who could wait for the perfect moment survived long in the West.

“I think I’m treating her pretty well, but she’s still rough on me.”

“She’s only rough with you? That’s a sign she’s interested in you!”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. Now, how should I explain this…? Man, if Harry were here… Harry was great at giving relationship advice.”

“Harry? Who’s Harry? Is he with you?”

“No, he’s not here, but Harry’s… Wait, before I tell you, do you have a cigarette? I’m out.”

“Oh, hold on.”

“I’ve got the lighter.”

Both men reached for what they said were cigarettes and matches.

But…

Click.

What they actually pulled out wasn’t cigarettes or matches.