NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 45
Boo-hoo-hoo.
The ship’s horn blows, and the ship sets sail.
“Josephine… It’s getting late. You should go inside.”
“Mm-hmm…”
Django and Josephine finally boarded the ship bound for Hawaii.
No matter how powerful William, the plantation owner, might be, he couldn’t chase after the two who were leaving America.
With this, the two would finally achieve the complete freedom they had longed for.
Of course, life in a foreign land might be tough and exhausting…
But still.
Django and Josephine promised not to let go of each other’s hands.
Step.
Josephine walked inside with Django and asked,
“Django, are you really okay now? The wound…”
It would take over two weeks to reach Hawaii.
The ship Django and Josephine boarded was as massive as a cruise ship, and naturally, there was a doctor on board.
Django, who had already been disinfected, treated, and bandaged, swung his arm around, saying he was fine.
“I’m perfectly fine. But… I’m worried about him. He was shot, not stabbed…”
“…Ah.”
The person Django was referring to was, of course, Noah.
Unlike Django, who was merely stabbed, Noah had been shot.
Even though it wasn’t a fatal wound, being shot four times meant his life could be in danger if he didn’t receive treatment soon.
As Django expressed his concern for Noah, Josephine also thought of him and asked,
“…Django. Why do you think he let us go?”
Not only did he let them go, but Noah also stopped Josephine from shooting herself in the head.
He had chased them all the way to San Francisco for money, so why…
“…I don’t know. I’m not sure either.”
Of course, Django couldn’t fully understand Noah’s heart either, so he didn’t know the exact reason.
But what stuck in Django’s memory was…
‘Here, eat this.’
It was the image of Noah offering him, a black man, a piece of chicken breast.
“One thing’s for sure, he doesn’t seem like such a bad person.”
The taste of that juicy chicken breast still lingered in his mouth.
Django smiled faintly and took one last look at the scenery of San Francisco.
The city where they had stayed for two weeks before boarding the ship to Hawaii.
But Django and Josephine had made many memories here.
Good ones… and bad ones…
All buried in this largest city in the West.
“…Josephine. Let’s never forget this place, even when we’re in Hawaii.”
“…Yeah.”
To Django and Josephine, San Francisco remained a city they could never forget.
Django hoped that Noah, too, would have a good final memory of San Francisco…
“Let’s go inside, Josephine.”
“Okay.”
Django went inside with Josephine.
After that, the two never returned to America.
It was much later that a hotel bearing their names, attracting countless tourists, was built in Hawaii.
**
“F***ing San Francisco-!!”
I muttered quietly as I saw the South Brotherhood members looking for me and Emma.
San Francisco really was a sh**ty city.
“Damn it-! This is why I didn’t want to come back here… Ouch…”
“Boss, are you okay?!”
I complained, but the pain in my side made me slump down on the spot.
That damn Django, that black bastard.
I only stabbed him once in the collarbone.
But that bastard turned me into Swiss cheese.
“Ugh… Emma, I’m in pain…”
Snap.
I took the chance to hug Emma’s waist, but she pushed me away with a stern look.
“…Looks like you still have enough energy to joke around. You must be doing okay.”
Emma’s eyes were cold, but there was also concern for me.
“But your condition is still critical. We need to find a doctor quickly…”
“That’s why we’re heading to one now.”
“…Huh? So we’re not just running away aimlessly?”
“Don’t say such hurtful things.”
After sending Django off, Emma and I had been moving eastward through the back alleys.
If we kept going this way, we’d reach the Saint Michel Slum.
Even the South Brotherhood, who controlled the city, avoided the Saint Michel Slum.
But for me, that place was like a playground.
The Saint Michel Slum was practically its own village.
It was poor, but there was a doctor there.
“…I know an unlicensed doctor there. Let’s go get treated and figure out how to get out of this damn city.”
“…Wait. An unlicensed doctor? Are you sure we should trust someone like that?”
“What, you wanna get a ticket and wait for a real doctor while we’re on the run? It’s the middle of the night.”
I wanted to see a proper doctor too, but the situation wasn’t ideal.
Going to the Saint Michel Slum was the best choice we had right now.
“Besides, that doctor has a 50% success rate. So let’s just go.”
“…A 50% success rate? Sigh…”
Emma sighed but seemed to agree that we had no other choice, so she followed me.
After walking through the alleys for about 30 minutes, we finally reached the entrance of the Saint Michel Slum…
“Alright, once we get in there… Wait a second…”
“…Boss, look.”
We could see security forces blocking the entrance to the Saint Michel Slum.
“…This is awkward.”
San Francisco was already under the control of the South Brotherhood.
I had expected Luke to mobilize the San Francisco Security Force.
But I didn’t think he’d block off the Saint Michel Slum.
‘Come to think of it, I always used to run to the Saint Michel Slum back in the day.’
Luke must have remembered that and ordered the slum to be blocked as soon as he heard I had escaped.
“…Boss, what do we do?”
“……”
“We don’t have much time to think.”
Emma was right. We really didn’t have much time.
I had done some makeshift first aid, but it was just that—makeshift.
I needed to get the bullets out of my body, disinfect the wounds, and change the bandages.
But getting into the Saint Michel Slum, where the doctor was, was practically impossible now.
‘…What should I do?’
After a moment of thought, I remembered one place among the options.
A place where I could rest my exhausted body and get my wounds treated.
The South Brotherhood didn’t know about that place, so it would be safe.
But…
‘Can I really take Emma there?’
I hesitated, but time was running out.
Drip.
Blood was still seeping through Emma’s handkerchief.
I didn’t think for long.
“…Emma, let’s head back to the seaside.”
“…Back the way we came?”
“There’s a place I know near there. Let’s hurry… Ugh.”
Stagger.
As I turned, I suddenly felt dizzy and lost my balance.
Snap.
“…Boss.”
Emma caught me.
“…Damn it, I should’ve just killed that Django bastard.”
Once again, I regretted it, but by now, he must have boarded the ship to Hawaii.
Damn that black bastard.
I muttered curses under my breath and walked back toward the beach.
I was dizzy, but thanks to Emma supporting me, I could move forward slowly but steadily.
“Boss, I can see the ocean now. Where should we go next?”
“…Over there, over there.”
“Over there…?”
San Francisco was a big city, but given the times, there were still many undeveloped areas.
The place I pointed to was a patch of grass next to a row of shanties, emitting an ominous darkness that anyone could see.
Emma, despite seeing the ominous place, didn’t complain and continued to support me as we moved forward.
After walking for 20 minutes, we reached the grass…
And after another 20 minutes, we arrived in the middle of a pitch-black forest…
“There’s a sign here…”
A sign appeared along with a path that showed traces of human presence.
[Private Property. No Trespassing.]
“Boss, should we keep going?”
“Keep going.”
At my firm words, Emma pushed past the sign and continued forward.
And after another 10 minutes…
“Wow…”
A charming villa came into view.
It seemed quite impressive to Emma, as she let out a small gasp and asked me,
“…Boss, what is this place…?”
“Hmm… how should I explain it? Let’s just say it’s a safe house I used to frequent.”
“…A safe house?”
When I lived in San Francisco, I had many enemies, including the South Brotherhood.
I often used the Saint Michel Slum to escape, but it was too dirty and smelly…
Somehow, I ended up with this villa.
The people who knew about this villa’s location were no longer in San Francisco.
With the Saint Michel Slum now sealed off, I figured this was the perfect place to hide.
“Let’s go in. There’s disinfectant, bandages, and everything else inside. We’ll treat your wounds first.”
If I left the wounds untreated, they’d get infected.
…And besides, I’ve lost too much blood, and I’m really dizzy now.
Desperate for treatment, I hurried inside with Emma.
**
Emma helped Noah, who was barely conscious, into the villa.
“…It might be a bit dusty since I haven’t cleaned it in years. Please bear with it.”
“Yes, I understand… Huh?”
Noah had warned Emma that it would be dirty due to lack of cleaning.
But…
‘…It’s cleaner than I expected?’
Noah, dizzy and disoriented, didn’t notice, but to Emma, the villa seemed clean.
As if it had been maintained all this time.
‘…Weird.’
Though puzzled, treatment came first.
Emma moved to the room Noah had mentioned.
It was an empty room with just a lone wardrobe and no bed.
“Is the first aid kit here?”
“Yeah, if you open this…”
Noah casually opened a section of the wall.
A small hidden space was revealed.
Inside were a pistol, bullets, a small amount of cash, a map, and various other emergency supplies.
Emma quickly found the first aid kit and began treating Noah.
‘At least it has everything we need…’
Emma first found a sealed syringe and painkillers, injecting them into Noah.
As the morphine-laced painkiller took effect, Noah, already dazed, began to slur his words.
Emma patted Noah and picked up the tweezers.
“…Boss, this is going to hurt. Please bear with it.”
“…Emma, you’ve done this before, right?”
“It’s my first time, but I’ll do my best.”
“…F*ck, I’m screwed.”
As Noah complained, Emma inserted the tweezers into the wound on his arm.
Soon, she found and pulled out the bullet, causing blood to gush like a fountain.
Emma looked at the pool of blood around Noah’s wound and opened the disinfectant.
“…I’ll disinfect it now.”
“…Emma, be gentle, please… Ah, f*ck…! Ouch-!”
Despite the painkillers, Noah screamed in agony.
At least the bullet had only hit his arm.
Emma finished disinfecting the other graze wounds and wrapped them in bandages.
That alone left Noah completely exhausted.
Truthfully, Noah needed more detailed treatment, but unfortunately, Emma’s medical knowledge ended there.
Feeling guilty, Emma found a blanket and covered Noah to make him more comfortable.
“Boss, the painkillers will make you sleepy. Rest for a bit. I’ll go find more blankets in the next room.”
“…Emma, wait.”
But the blanket in this room wasn’t enough to cover Noah, so Emma headed to another room.
The villa was quite large, with many rooms. Luckily, she found another blanket in the wardrobe of the adjacent room.
Just as Emma was about to grab it and leave…
“…Huh?”
Something on the desk caught her eye—a stack of something she hadn’t noticed when she first entered the room.
On the old wooden desk, neatly packed in white envelopes…
…Letters?
As soon as she saw them, Emma set the blanket down and, as if entranced, approached the desk.
She picked up the letter on the far left, neatly arranged in chronological order.
[April 26, 1871]
A letter sent three years ago.
Remembering that Noah had first arrived in Justice Town around March 1871, Emma checked the sender.
And the sender was…
[JJ to Kid]
“…JJ?”
Only initials were written.
She didn’t know who sent it, but given that the recipient was Kid, it was clearly meant for Noah.
‘…I’m curious.’
Emma had worked under Noah for three years but knew nothing about him.
And she had a feeling that reading these letters might give her a glimpse into his past.
Of course, these letters were like Pandora’s box.
…Opening them might reveal truths she didn’t want to know.
But…
“……”
Swoosh.
Pandora’s box was destined to be opened.
Emma reached out for the letters.