“This is the one we spoke about earlier that would be made using new materials,” Winry said as she pointed at the knee on the diagram. She had selected materials designed so they could be made thinner using the latest techniques in order to fulfill Kaas’s request for lighter automail. “This part as well as that part will be three millimeters thinner than before.”
“What are these lines that form a cross here?”
“Since it’s thinner, we’ll put in thin metal rods as reinforcements,” Winry explained. “This is a diagram of it from the back. It will be fifteen percent lighter than the automail you’re currently using.”
As he listened to her explanation, Kaas followed the diagram with his eyes and nodded firmly as though to indicate that he didn’t have any issue with that figure.
“That’ll be such a help. Looks like the only thing left is for me to learn how to take care of it, and that should be it,” he said, his voice quieting slightly. Though he had agreed to the new automail, he still seemed concerned about maintenance.
“About that, would you be kind enough to look at this?”
Winry spread out another sheet of paper. It was a blueprint for another piece of automail that would be lighter than the automail he had now, but that required the same care as his current leg.
“You told me that you were worried about having a different maintenance routine, so I found another type of material. But it will be slightly more expensive than the other one.”
“Oh, you went out of your way to make a second design?” Kaas seemed surprised as he leaned forward and looked at the blueprints.
“Yes. I can’t make it as light as the one I just showed you, but you’ll be able to care for it in the same way you have been.”
“Oh ho, looks like the screw here is a different shape.”
“Yes, I can’t make the body any lighter, so I thought I’d lighten the parts instead.”
Winry pulled off a screw that was taped to the edge of the blueprint and offered it to him. It was handmade. Since carving it was labor-intensive, the metal was normally not used for making delicate parts, but she had practiced using the new machine to make it.
After she finished explaining the two designs, Winry laid them out them side by side on the table.
“What do you think?” Winry asked.
She didn’t mind whichever Kaas chose. What mattered was that she had prepared plans that fit his desired conditions, and that he chose one.
“I suppose I’ll choose this one,” he said, pointing at the blueprint that would allow him to keep his current maintenance routine.
“Understood. Then I’ll produce this one for you,” Winry replied. She drew a large circle over the blueprint that he had chosen.
“I’m counting on that,” Kaas said. As he stood up from his chair and was just about to leave, he stopped in his tracks. “So, why did you prepare two blueprints for me?”
“Because,” Winry stopped rolling up the schematics as she explained. “You’re the one who’ll need to maintain your automail every day, Mr. Kaas, so I thought I’d better make something that prioritizes what you want. Also, it would make me happy to know that you’re using your automail and taking care of it in the long term. The best way to make that possible is to make it easier to maintain.”
“I see.”
The corners of his eyes crinkled as though he were squinting at a bright light, but the hand he gently placed on Winry’s shoulder as he passed by expressed his gratitude. His large, rugged hand on her shoulder brought warmth to Winry’s heart.
When Winry judged there was an afternoon lull in the stream of clients coming in, she called out to Garfiel, who was servicing a regular’s automail. “Mr. Garfiel, could I go out for a bit? I checked every bit of Milia’s automail, so I’d like to go reattach it for her.”
The day before, Winry had visited Milia’s house and taken the girl’s automail. After a scrupulous inspection, it seemed that the issue Milia had complained about had indeed been imagined. Winry wanted to tell Milia that as soon as possible.
“You’re going all the way to her house?” Garfiel said, stopping in the middle of applying oil to a customer’s automail. He looked doubtful. As a general rule, Atelier Garfiel didn’t pay home visits for automail servicing.
Winry said, “I just thought she’d have trouble coming all the way here on a substitute leg she’s not used to.”
Milia’s house was partway across the other side of the mountains with the heart of the town in between, so she would need to travel up steep stairs and over inclines. Winry had been the one to take the girl’s automail, so she wanted to do what she could for Milia.
“I understand that, but more importantly, are you sure you’ll be fine without getting some sleep?” Garfiel questioned, pointedly looking at the bags under Winry’s eyes. “It’s a lovely thing that you’re taking such good care of the clients, but there’s no point if it means sacrificing your own health in return.”
At Garfiel’s somewhat stern warning, Winry replied, “I’ll be fine! I’ve always been tough, ever since I was small!”
When Winry brought her firmly balled fists up to her chest as an apparent show of just how tough she was, Garfiel sighed. He didn’t know what else to do.
Winry’s skills at work seemed to be improving and she had a very good reputation with the customers. But if she kept pushing herself, that stress would eventually manifest. That wouldn’t only negatively affect her ability to concentrate and her problem-solving skills—she would lose her ability to consider those around her as well. The shelf and floor, and most importantly the old tools from Resembool that Winry had been so attentive to at the outset were starting to collect dust. As the one with more experience, Garfiel started to warn her to be careful of that: “So, Winry …”
However, before he could get anywhere, they heard the voice of the man from the studio next door.
“Hey! Get those boxes you’ve got in the road cleaned up already!”
“Oh, sorry!” Winry replied. She hurried out to the front, her footsteps thudding as she went. “I’ll clean them up right away!”
“You’ve even blocked the way into my shop. Bring your shipments in as soon as they arrive,” the man chided.