stand-in creed

Suzumi Sugimoto nodded.

When Nero came out from the alley, he was already walking shoulder to shoulder with Suzumi Sugimoto on the streets of San Diego.Nero is wearing a black kimono, and Sugimoto Suzumi is wearing a white dress. This look seems a bit out of place in this era and this land, constantly attracting the attention of people around.

But Nero didn't care.

When does a stand-in envoy, who spends his days in the street, fighting with a stand-in invisible to ordinary people, care about the eyes of others?

However, considering the confidentiality of things like doubles, Nero looked at this foreign land while communicating with Suzumi Sugimoto in "Japanese" that people around him could not understand.

That being said.

"— Stairway to Heaven."

Nero tried his best to mobilize his substitute power, but the problem is that he can't feel the existence of the ladder to heaven anyway.

It's as if it disappeared.

The problem is a bit big, but not unacceptably big.

Suzumi Sugimoto said seriously.

"But my 'my heart' is still there. "

"It is estimated that something went wrong with the "Stairway to Heaven" when it was in space..."

Nero shook his head.

Since there is no way to verify the various conjectures, there is no need to know what happened.The future is more important than the past.

"After the supernova explosion killed Katz, we didn't seem to die. Instead, we came to San Diego, USA in 1890. And a week later, the "Steel Ball Run" horse race with a prize money of 5000 million US dollars will be held here.

"That's where we are."

"Nero wants to participate?" Suzumi Suzumi blinked.

"I want to go back." Nero said as a matter of course, "Although I took Katz to the end with the obsession that "I will not become a memory", since I am still alive, I naturally want to go back." Back to my friends — and 21st century infrastructure.But now that the Stairway to Heaven is gone, we have to be prepared. "

"Prepare to live here." Suzumi Sugimoto understood Nero's meaning.

"That's right." Nero hugged his wife generously, feeling the western atmosphere of this city, "Since it is possible to live here, there is one thing that is very important——

"--money.

"Whether it's a superior life or what we want to achieve, we all need money. I will take this huge sum of 5000 million U.S. dollars into my pocket without hesitation."

"But the question is...have you ever ridden a horse?" Suzumi Sugimoto blinked.

"Well...do you count?"

"I'll fuck you!"

Suzumi immediately grabbed Nero's waist.

Nero hid with a smile, and while eavesdropping on the chats of passers-by, he pulled Lingmei in front of him with a smile, rubbed his wife's shoulders comfortably, and said quite confidently.

"Relax, Suzumi. I, Nero Zeppelin, have never ridden a horse since the first day I was born!"

"No, no, this kind of thing shouldn't be said in such a confident tone?"

"But if you don't even have the momentum to believe that you can win the championship, then there is really no possibility at all."

Nero is confident.

Having said that, Nero pointed to a fork in the road ahead.

"Go there."

"There?"

"The registration office is in that direction."

"Huh...?" Sugimoto Suzumi blinked, "When did you ask the way?"

"There's no need to ask. There are spectators or contestants everywhere here. There are a lot of people asking about this question. If you just listen to what others say, you will naturally know the necessary information."

"I see, it's Nero!"

while walking.

The husband and wife came near the registration office, and the person who was registering was a little special.

That is a nobleman.

"The age of riding is over!

"My valet and I are going to use this machine called "Car" to cross the continental United States!Your host "Steven Steele" has agreed! "

"No problem, the premise is that you are not allowed to "change" the car halfway?In addition, the registration fee is 1200 US dollars per person..."

Not far away, Nero blinked, and then looked at Suzumi Sugimoto tenderly.

Nero gently rested his head on Suzumi's cap.

"We may have to sign up later."

"Yeah, after all, it costs $1200, and we only have $100 in hand."

"It's $2400, Suzumi."

"Hey?"

Suzumi was taken aback.

Nero pointed to the back of the car aristocrat who took the number plate and left not far away.

"The competition allows multiple people to use the same car.

"This is a rare opportunity, don't you want to try the feeling of me sitting on a horse with you in my arms, and we cross the continental United States like the protagonists of a western movie?"

"Sounds good?" Suzumi Sugimoto's eyes lit up.

"So there's only one thing we have to do now."

Holding his wife's hand, Nero came back to his senses and stepped on the streets of San Diego.

Slowly raising his head, he turned his gaze to the clear sky.

"A week.

"I'm going to earn the $2400 entry fee and—

"A horse worthy enough to carry us across the continental United States!"

Chapter 3 Schuttheim II

This is the western world.

Unlike Santiago, which was full of tall buildings in Nero's memory, the "nostalgia" here is terrible.

There are wooden houses that can be burned down everywhere. In addition to the smell of horse dung, you can see cowboys with guns on their waists everywhere. These cowboys remind Nero of a A not-so-familiar acquaintance—Hol Hess.

Probably such a world is very suitable for the appetite of the romantic cowboy.

Nero stopped on the road and looked around.

Suzumi Sugimoto said, "So where do we get $2400?"

Nero shrugged. "Money is a small problem. I care about another problem more than money-everyone here has a gun."

Suzumi Sugimoto blinked: "Didn't you keep saying it was a 'toy'? "

Nero seemed to have observed where he was going, and he raised his legs and continued to walk forward: "The problem is that my beloved scarf and the soapy water in my clothes have been burned away, and my hands are empty and a little uncomfortable-go drink A cup?"

Having said that, Nero pointed to a small bar not far away.

Suzumi Sugimoto walked forward happily holding Nero's arm, looking around like a child on a spring outing.

As soon as he entered the door, Nero was stopped by the guard, who was an old man with gray beard.

"..."

The old man stopped Nero, didn't speak, just pointed to the small sign in front of him——

Please store the gun at the counter.

After pointing to the small sign, the old man pointed to the cabinet behind him, which was filled with various gun holsters and gun bags.

Nero blinked, and took two steps back to show the old man his slightly out-of-fit black bathrobe: "Excuse me sir, do you think there is a place on my body where I can hide a weapon?"

"..."

The old man looked Nero up and down, then nodded immediately.Seeing that although Nero was dressed strangely, he didn't look like a dirty beggar who couldn't pay, so he waved his hand to let Nero in.

The tavern was full of people.

The oriole with heavy makeup, the meticulous businessman, the drunken gambler, and the cowboy who covered his face with his hat and put his feet on the table in the corner of the tavern.

Nero's fancy dress attracted a lot of attention, but Nero didn't care, just came to the bar with Suzumi.

"Two glasses of lemonade, with ice."

Nero said so, and handed the money to the bartender.

"……lemonade?"

The bartender blinked, and looked at the man cast in copper and iron in confusion, with confusion in his eyes.

"lemonade?

"Don't you want alcohol, sir? Vodka or something?"

At the same time, the entire bar fell into extreme silence, as if waiting for Nero's answer.

Nero blinked, then said seriously.

"lemonade.

"I do not drink."

Although Nero saw Coca-Cola at the bar—the company was founded four years earlier, in 1886—Nero vaguely remembered that the oldest cola tasted only bad.He decided it was better to be kind to his stomach.

Unlike before, who only attracted a little attention because of the strange clothes, almost everyone's eyes were focused on Nero at this moment.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"Lemonade? Hey, did you hear that, Lemonade! This guy didn't expect that he looks so big, but he's actually a baby who hasn't been weaned yet!"

"Hey, beautiful lady over there! Don't worry about that little doll with wine, don't you consider changing to a man?"

In an instant, booing and laughter filled the tavern.

Nero blinked, probably understanding.

If a weak woman ordered two glasses of lemonade, these lawbreakers probably wouldn't say anything, but if a man like Nero said "I don't drink", everyone would laugh at him and think that he doesn't drink. people are dolls.In the same way, people who drink high alcohol look down on those who drink low alcohol, and those who drink heavily look down on those who drink lightly...

Some people who make a fuss may not have any malice in themselves, and they are good people on weekdays, but at this moment they are just making a fuss.When you encounter a soft bone that dare not fight back, you will make fun of it twice as a joke while drinking, and forget all about it after drinking. After returning home, you may be a drunk who beats his wife, or you may be a responsible husband and father, but None of this matters.

The point is - if the person they happen to be taunting isn't a softie, it's going to be fun. .

Nero is not a cowboy, and he has never even ridden a horse.

But just right.

Nero is a tough guy.

Accompanied by the bustling laughter, Suzumi Sugimoto gave her middle finger neatly to the side with the loudest voice.As for Nero, he handed a glass of lemonade to Suzumi leisurely, and he took another glass and began to look around in the tavern, and locked his eyes on the German guy who made fun of Suzumi.

Why a German?

Nero heard it from his accent.

Strictly speaking, it should be the Second German Reich.The 30-year-old William II came to power last year, but this year is the year when the iron-blooded Prime Minister Bismarck stepped down.

At this moment, the blond-haired, blue-eyed German guy in Nero's line of sight was wearing a neat uniform. The monocle on his right eye was embedded in his eye, making his eyeballs so round that he couldn't even blink.It was such a guy who was sitting on a somewhat damaged round wooden table playing cards with three other cowboys, and the table was piled up with stacks of chips.

One of the cowboys seemed to have a bad hand of cards, pushed the chips forward cursingly, threw the cards on the table and left.

Counting the original empty seats, there were exactly two.

Nero and Suzumi Sugimoto walked over generously and opened a chair.

"Ok?"

The German was holding his cards.

Seeing that Nero had come to sit down, the German guy took a puff of his cigarette and opened his mouth.