Robot Protection Zone Chapter 102

I slowly opened my eyes at the feeling of my body shaking.

I was sitting in a car. Thanks to the seat being slightly reclined, the first thing I saw was the dark ceiling, and then the sight of my master driving.

The seatbelt was even fastened securely over my body. I had no memory of getting into the car myself, so my master must have moved me. I must have been so sound asleep that I didn’t even wake up while being moved here.

“Mr. William, what about work?”

“It’s finished. It’s still a long way before we arrive, so you can sleep a little more.”

I shook my head and leaned the upper body I had briefly raised back against the seat. I was tired from being out all day, but my body felt much lighter after a short nap.

I sat quietly in my seat and looked up at the sky. Instead of the moon and stars hidden behind the hazy clouds, streetlights were brightly illuminating the road. Inside the car, where no conversation was exchanged, only a faint engine hum could be heard.

The languid feeling of just having woken up mixed with the quiet and peaceful atmosphere, calming my mind. It seemed like it would be nice to go for a drive like this, but my master must be tired, so it would be better to hurry home.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome, William, Didi.”

Even though we arrived at dawn, Sophia and Eve were there to greet us as always. I gave a small smile seeing Eve, who must have just been sleeping, wag her tail and then yawn widely, and entered the house with my master.

“Didi, you’re sleeping with me again today, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then wash up and come to my room.”

We went up to the second floor together with my master and parted ways for a moment as we each went into our own rooms.

As I entered my room, Eve quietly followed me in. Eve naturally climbed onto the bed, curled her body into a ball, and settled down.

I was thinking I should also wash up quickly and go to my master’s room, but I suddenly noticed the things we bought today neatly organized inside the dressing room. The suits and shoes were custom-made, so it would take some time to receive them, but the watch, bag, and new clothes were already in their places.

A considerable amount of time passed as I looked at them one by one, reminiscing about the day. Only then did I come to my senses, hurriedly took a shower, and rushed to my master’s room.

“Mr. William, I’m coming in.”

I knocked and carefully opened the door, but the lights in the room were already off. Is he already asleep? As I peeked my head inside, I heard my master’s voice from the direction of the bed.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and lie down.”

My master lifted the blanket and patted the spot next to him, as if telling me to lie down quickly. I nodded, closed the door, and quietly slipped under the covers.

As soon as I lay down on the bed, my master pulled me into an embrace. Realizing that the deep breath he let out was filled with exhaustion, I asked in an apologetic voice.

“Were you waiting for me? You could have gone to sleep first…”

“I thought you’d be here soon. What took you so long?”

“I was looking at the things we bought today…”

Thankfully, it seemed he had no intention of scolding me for being late, as my master just held me without a word.

“Didi, what do you want to do tomorrow?”

“What about the company?”

“I finished everything today, so it’s fine to rest for one more day.”

My master, who seemed like he would fall asleep any second, kept talking to me in a voice laced with fatigue. I lay side by side next to my master and fell deep in thought.

“Is there anywhere you want to go?”

“Well…”

“Tell me. Anywhere is fine.”

As I hesitated to answer, my master reassured me and urged me for a response. I still couldn’t speak for a long while, then said in a small, trailing voice.

“I want to go to the place where my former master is buried.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I felt my master’s arms, which were holding me, flinch.

Is he going to get angry… Mr. William hated it when I brought up my former master. I carefully lifted my head and observed my master’s reaction.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

“Really…?”

“You said you wanted to go. I was planning on visiting him at least once anyway.”

Unexpectedly, permission came easily from my master’s lips. As I stared at my master with surprised eyes, a large hand rustled through my hair.

“We’ll leave as soon as we wake up tomorrow. It’s quite far, so it’ll take a while just to get there. Sleep quickly.”

“Okay!”

I answered brightly and threw myself into my master’s arms. As I buried my face in his wide, firm chest and closed my eyes, I heard a small laugh from above my head.

We started preparing to go out busily from the morning.

I stood in the middle of the dressing room, lost in thought. It would be right to wear black clothes, but… I, who hadn’t even been able to attend my former master’s funeral, had yet to accept the fact that he had passed away. In the end, my hands reached for the neat clothes I usually wore.

After a long drive with my master, we arrived at a quiet memorial park far away from the house where I used to live.

I walked with a bouquet of white flowers I had bought from a nearby flower shop in my arms.

A quiet stillness lingered in the cemetery where green grass stretched endlessly. A gentle breeze that blew intermittently brushed past my cheek.

Even though winter was approaching soon, the weather today was as nice as spring. It was a complicated feeling to look up at the clear sky, which was the complete opposite of my troubled heart.

As my expression grew darker, my master asked in a worried voice.

“Didi, we can come back later.”

“No, it’s okay.”

I shook my head slightly. It was now time to face the death of my former master, which I had been avoiding all this time.

Soon, my master and I stopped in front of a tombstone. There were several similar graves nearby, but I immediately recognized that this was the place where my former master was buried.

“Is this it?”

“Yes.”

The name written on the tombstone felt both familiar and strange. In front of the tombstone, there was a picture of my former master in a palm-sized frame, perhaps placed there by a family member.

I crouched down and looked at the picture. In the photo, my former master had many wrinkles and had aged so much that it was hard to find traces of his old self. But his gentle eyes, which I remembered, were still the same.

I asked my master what I had been curious about all this time.

“Did my former master live a happy life?”

“Well. He divorced before I was even born and passed away making only robots, which he loved so much, so maybe he did live happily.”

“He got… divorced?”

My eyes widened upon hearing something unexpected.

I still vividly remembered my master’s last appearance as he turned off my power, saying he was getting married. I thought my master had lived happily ever after with his new partner and passed away, which was why he hadn’t looked for me… but that wasn’t it.

“Their marriage was arranged anyway. My grandmother was the only daughter of a famous legal family. She married him saying she would enact a law to ban human-bots, then they divorced a few years later.”

“……”

“I used to not understand why he made such a useless law, but now I get it. He probably couldn’t just stand by and watch people who only see human-bots as toys treat beings just like you carelessly.”

My master quietly lowered his eyes and added another word in a low voice.

“So, he didn’t turn off your power because he hated you.”

Tears welled up in my eyes without me realizing it, and my eyes reddened. Seeing that, my master roughly swept his hair back, then pulled me into a hug so tight it felt like my body would break.

“Ha… damn it. I should have met you first. To think I’d be jealous of that old man.”

My master muttered a low curse and clenched his teeth. In my master’s arms, I fidgeted, swallowed my tears, and opened my mouth.

“I think I know why my former master sent Mr. William to me.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you think he entrusted me to you knowing that Mr. William would surely treat me preciously?”

“……”

My master didn’t look particularly happy even after hearing that. After a long silence, my master loosened his grip on me and said as if muttering.

“But I acted foolishly and hurt you.”

I immediately shook my head.

“No, I was the one who was trapped in the thought that I was a robot. If it weren’t for Mr. William, I would have lived my entire life as a robot until my power was turned off.”

I could also laugh when I was happy and cry when I was sad. I knew how to feel pained by an eternal separation and could fall in love with someone.

Although I am an artificially created being, if it’s this much… isn’t it okay for me to say I’m human too?

“And Mr. William, you told me. That I’m human now.”

“…You’re right.”

My master affirmed quietly and placed a light kiss on my black hair fluttering in the wind.