94. The joker
"Winry, do you know why you are here?" Aoto enquired after observing that the two had become involved in a dispute over milk. A war that has been raging for years.
"Yes, to work and create automail for the world's citizens." Winry seemed happy as she nodded. She often got enthusiastic when automail was discussed.
"Hey.. Automail.. Do the people here face the problems like ours? Wait, are there automail in this world already or Winry's expertise is a new thing?" Edward enquired. Because of the frequent conflicts and sometimes limb loss, their world had a sizable population of automail engineers, scientists, and surgeons who were devoted to this subject.
Since Winry was intended to be employed here, it was possible that potential clients might want her knowledge and automail. Meanwhile, Aoto was surprised that Ed could think that a world might not even have automail.
His experience while moving around was really something.
"You're correct. This world doesn't have automail and Winry will be the first person to have something like that. And certainly, these conflicts are deadlier than yours. "Added Aoto.
"Deadly than ours? Are you certain of that?" As he pondered his most recent major battle, Ed posed the question. The war against the Father and his legion of fools who wanted to immortality.
"Yes. Although you may have witnessed the destruction of the Ishval Civil War and the fight against the Father, those conflicts pale in comparison to the conflicts taking place here. There are weapons here that, with the flick of a finger, might destroy an entire city." Added Aoto.
Ed tensed up and clenched his hand in response to this. He never imagined that the world he was introduced to would be so perilous.
"Is there knowledge of alchemy here I can learn from?" Ed asked because he didn't want to inquire further about wars because it was upsetting Winry.
"No. However, ninjutsu exists. A new kind of weapon that is much scarier than alchemy." Added Aoto.
"Ninjutsu? That's new term. Can't wait to learn about it." Ed had gleaming eyes.
"But at first you will have to help us in maintaining and opening the shop." Added Aoto. Ed nodded. At last, Ed spoke and introduced himself to the three persons there. John and others too introduced their own previous world.
Ed had huge stars in his eyes when he came to know that their world even had dragons and magic. But regrettably, he wouldn't get to see them. Meanwhile, Aoto came to see the wheel again and this time the wheel was not white in color but rather red.
Probably the system's way of saying white for peace and prosperity while red is for violence and blood. However, he was prepared to spin it.
"You will bring more people?" Jon enquired.
"Yes. I have been given the power to summon a bodyguard for myself." Added Aoto.
"A bodyguard? You do need one." Arya said. She still recalled how Aoto left the hospital that day, feeling as though his life was in danger. Because Winry was confused, Hot Pie explained how his "lottery powers" operated.
Aoto twisted the conversation vigorously without objecting to it. The wheel eventually stopped on a question mark after around 30 seconds. The image of a man took the place of the question mark, which was gone.
A man with a slim face and elegant features, with blonde hair that fell to the side of his shoulders. He had a lean physique and a body that could easily scream strength and agility seeing the well toned muscles visible in some parts.
But that wasn't the person's main selling point. The highlights were his clothes and his makeup. Yes. The makeup.
This man had strange tattoo-like purple shading under his left eye and lipstick that reached all the way to his cheeks. He was wearing a beanie that had tails on the sides that reached his stomach and covered his head. A perfectly pressed white pant and a perfectly tailored light pink suit with red hearts on it.
In addition, he had a large, extremely fluffy coat on his back that reached his knees. It was a really odd outfit, especially for a male. Everyone nearby almost chuckled seeing the face but Aoto had a very serious one.
"System, can the deceased also be brought?"
[
Please don't belittle the system, host. It can do things unimaginable to you
]
"Fine. I believe you." Added Aoto. The man himself emerged out of nowhere as the other people were chatting about his attire. However, there was one change from how he appeared in the wheel image. This man had eyes that were continuously streaming with tears. Everyone there that was fooling around had to stop and just watch in quiet as a result.
They were baffled as to why someone would cry after being called. Was he sorely missing someone? Was it his lover? Or his son?
Aoto approached the man who was sobbing down to his knees and gave him a bear embrace. The man simply allowed the stranger to hug him rather than shooing him away.
"It's alright. You kept him alive. It's okay." Aoto spoke softly in his ear. A little shaken, the man who had been crying looked up. The man wanted to say something but seeing people around he stopped. He didn't recognize any of the people present in the white space and he was confused a bit even though his mind was filled with new information.
"It's okay, you can speak. You won't have to hide yourself from us." Added Aoto. After much thought and a slight quiver, the man eventually asked in a hushed voice.
"Is this heaven?"
"Hahaha.. No.. This is a new world same like your previous world, just a different one but equally as fucked as your world, if not more. Welcome to the new world Mr. Rosinante Donquixote or should I just call you Corazon?" Aoto enquired while cracking a broad smile.
Having someone like him by his side made him extremely happy.