The best shopkeeper anyone can ask for

Aoto's eyebrows perked up when he read that the system allowed two additional summons this time. He had always felt that the system was very much alive and could think for itself, but the newest prompt made it 100% certain.

Apart from mocking him, the system seemed to possess a good conscience; otherwise, it wouldn't have helped him with the newest problem he was facing. He was glad anyway.

Aoto didn't go for the lottery immediately but waited for everyone. Torune and Naruto were too young to understand, so it was better to commence after these two fell asleep.

It was nighttime when Torune was taken away by Shikuro, and Naruto was put to bed by Winry. Everyone was in the house at the moment, and in fact, Naruto swore he would stay awake, sensing there would be some kind of party.

But being as young as he was, he fell asleep after Winry gave him a light head massage. During that time, Edward came forward and whispered to Aoto.

"I want to propose to Winry." This made Aoto turn around slowly and gaze deep into Edward's eyes, saying, "You better not bring any scientific jargon into the proposal, or else the others might seriously give you a hard time." Aoto said. The others here felt a little insecure because Edward was so adept with science, and thus, they often 'teased' him.

"Hmph! This is my proposal, and I'll do it the way I like," Edward said.

"Fine. Have you thought of a ring or something?"

"I have, but I'll make it in the next few days. I want to make one using Adamantium. Is that alright?" Edward asked.

"Why are you asking me? All the Adamantium is at your disposal, and you can use it however you like," Aoto replied.

"No. I'm using business materials for personal use, and I want to pay for it," Edward said, adamant about providing for the ring. Aoto understood his feelings and agreed. Edward then went on to talk about his plans and way of proposing.

By the time the others had joined in and heard about his plan, they offered their own input.

"What are you guys whispering about?" Winry came from behind and asked. This startled everyone, causing them to huddle together.

"Uh... We were discussing who the new friends that would arrive might be," Shikuro fumbled out a quick lie. Everyone here held Winry in great respect and were somewhat intimidated by her. They also protected her.

"Oh. Then why don't we just go and call them? Naruto has already fallen asleep."

Everyone nodded and sighed in relief that she hadn't overheard their conversation. Pinako was also present.

"System, take us to the lottery space," Aoto said.

In the next moment, everyone was back in the familiar white space, with the same lottery wheel in front of them. Aoto didn't waste any more time contemplating and spun it. Within a minute, the pointer stopped at a question mark.

The question mark disappeared and was replaced by a man's face. Upon seeing the man, Aoto's eyes widened, and he almost jumped with joy. This was the best shopkeeper he could have hoped for.

The wheel also disappeared, and then a man suddenly appeared. The man was of average height and had a lean physique. He wore a traditional hat called a "kasa," which obscured half of his face. Beneath the hat, he wore a dark-green, short-sleeved kimono with a white diamond pattern, left slightly open to reveal a dark-colored undershirt. Around his waist, he had tied a red obi (belt), which held the kimono together and added a pop of color to his ensemble.

Completing his outfit were a pair of traditional Japanese wooden sandals known as "geta." But the most distinct feature was the sword tied to his belt on his waist. There was only one man who could fit the criteria.

"Ahh... I've been pulled into a different world. This is unfortunate," the man said in a rather peculiar tone, as if he were trying hard to convey that he was quite weak and needed assistance. Only those who knew him personally understood that all of this was a facade, and he was exceptionally powerful.

"Welcome to our place, Kisuke Urahara," Aoto said as he bowed his head.

"Oh, you must be my summoner," Kisuke replied, returning the bow. Urahara seemed to have already absorbed all the information that the system might have provided him, and Aoto wasn't surprised by that.

He was the genius of Soul Society. Very few things out there would faze him. The others were curious about this new friend.

"He looks like me," Hot Pie whispered.

"In what way does he look like you?" Arya asked, amused by Hot Pie's confidence.

"But he talks like me," Hot Pie argued.

"No, he doesn't," John commented. His chaos magic could already sense that something was off about this man, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It felt like he was watching a very old monster, even though this man didn't appear old in any way.

"So, do I get to bring two of my friends?" Urahara had already grasped the situation, so he asked Aoto. Aoto nodded. Urahara closed his eyes for a moment, and in the next instant, a small black cat appeared alongside a tall, muscular man with his hair tied back.

This was Tessai Tsukabishi, and the black cat was the beautiful Yoruichi Shihōin. The black cat didn't transform at all and simply looked around with curiosity. Aoto was very pleased with the new set of shopkeepers he had just acquired. This was more than he could have asked for.

"So, these are my colleagues," Urahara said as he approached them. Urahara gave off a friendly vibe, making him approachable to everyone. Each of them introduced themselves.

"I am sorry, but what are you?" John while getting introduced had to ask. 

"Ahh.. An European. I hardly get to see them in Karakura Town. Hmm.. I do feel some weird power in your body. To answer your question, I am a shinigami (death reaper)." 

---

Read 38 more chapters on my p@treon.com/thelightedghost