Robot Protection Zone Chapter 12

“She’s probably charging somewhere again. It takes Sophia half a day to charge once. She won’t be around today, so don’t wait for her.”

“Yes….”

My master answered nonchalantly. When I answered in a small voice and nodded, my master said he had to get ready for work and went up to his room on the second floor. I did not follow him, but remained seated on the sofa, watching his back.

My master seemed to know Sophia very well. Sophia also called my master by his name, not by a title. They must have spent a long time together. A deep trust could be felt in the way they treated each other. For some reason, I was envious… and for some unknown reason, it made me feel alienated.

Sophia was in charge of all the household chores, including housework and cleaning, in this house. On the other hand, I… was of no help to my master at all. If I continued to be this useless, it might just be a matter of time before I was thrown away.

My master went upstairs first, but I felt bad about ignoring Sophia’s greeting last night and running to my room, so I decided to wait for Sophia a little longer. However, no matter how long I waited, Sophia did not appear.

Is she really charging, as my master said? If so, I would not be able to talk to Sophia today. Thinking that I must apologize tomorrow, I quietly got up from the sofa and headed to my room.

As I went up to the second floor, my master’s firmly closed room came into view. I stared at my master’s room for a moment, then turned my steps in the opposite direction, toward my room.

As I was turning the doorknob to enter my room, I suddenly noticed a white object that had fallen in the corner of the hallway.

“Those are the indoor slippers that Sophia wears….”

Did Sophia drop them while cleaning? Thinking that I should give them to her tomorrow, I approached to pick up the slippers.

“……!”

As I was about to bend down to pick up the slippers, I held my breath and froze on the spot.

Beyond the corner, I saw Sophia’s figure collapsed on the floor.

“So, Sophia?”

Sophia was sprawled on the floor as if she were asleep. I called her name in a trembling voice, but no answer came back.

Is, is she sleeping here?

I carefully checked her condition and shook her to wake her up. However, Sophia remained as stiff as a board.

“Ah….”

I knew instinctively. Sophia was not sleeping because she was tired, nor had she simply collapsed due to a lack of battery. She was broken.

I felt my body temperature drop coldly with fear. I looked at Sophia and muttered.

“She will definitely be thrown away….”

I remembered my master’s expressionless eyes as he stared at the humanbot asking for help. And his cold gaze as he looked down at the serving robot being kicked. Now that Sophia was broken as well, it was clear that Sophia would be thrown away just like them if things continued this way.

But I could not just stand by and watch. I could not save those two, but I wanted to help Sophia at least.

Even though we were old and broken, the desire of a robot to help its master was the same for all of us. I, too, knew that feeling very well, so I wanted to help her. Above all, being thrown away for being useless did not feel like someone else’s problem.

I quietly embraced Sophia.

If my master saw her, Sophia could be thrown away just like that. The first thing to do was to take her to my room and hide her.

After carefully dragging her to my room and hiding her so as not to injure her, I pondered how to fix Sophia.

I knew nothing about fixing robots. However, I thought that Thomas, who had fixed my body at the company, would be able to fix Sophia. He had neatly repaired my body, which had been stiff from being inactive for a long time, so could he not fix Sophia’s body in the blink of an eye?

If the repairs were finished quickly, I thought I could quietly get past this without even informing my master that Sophia was broken.

But how should I contact him? The only thing I knew about Thomas was that he worked at my master’s company.

“Should I ask my master to take me to the company…?”

If I could just succeed in getting to the company with my master, I could find a moment to slip away and find Thomas. It was the simplest means, and at the same time, it seemed like there was no other way.

As soon as I had a plan, I ran to my master’s room. It was almost time for my master to go to work, so I had to catch him before he left for the company.

“Master!”

I threw open the door and entered, making eye contact with my master who had finished getting ready for work. Seeing my master’s expression contort, I belatedly realized that I had not knocked.

“Knock?”

“I, I’m sorry….”

In my haste, I had forgotten to knock. I realized my mistake belatedly and apologized. To think that I made another mistake after resolving not to make any…. I felt more and more useless.

“If you come in without permission one more time, I’ll kick you out. So, why did you come?”

“I want to go to the company with you, master.”

“To the company? Why all of a sudden?”

My master frowned and gave me a quizzical look. I had not expected him to ask for a reason, so I was at a loss for words for a moment.

“I didn’t get to look around properly last time…. I thought something might come back to me if I walked around the company….”

As I quickly pieced together a reason and made an excuse, my master thought for a moment and then said nonchalantly.

“Well, I suppose that’s possible. Get dressed. We’re leaving soon.”

“Yes!”

As soon as my master gave his permission, I hurriedly returned to my room. I had to get ready before he changed his mind.

When I returned to my room, Sophia, who I had laid on the floor, came into view. She was still motionless.

“Sophia. I’ll be back soon, so don’t worry too much.”

It was unlikely that the broken Sophia could hear me, but just in case, I quietly whispered and reassured Sophia.

I hurriedly got ready to go out and, finally, approached Sophia. I was covering her shoulders with a blanket so that she would not be cold while waiting, when suddenly the door swung open.

“Didi, today….”

“Ma, master!”

As soon as the door opened and my master entered, I was startled and tried to hide Sophia, who was lying on the floor, but my master was faster at spotting Sophia lying on the floor. Despite all my efforts, my master had eventually discovered the broken Sophia.

My master looked at Sophia lying on the floor, then frowned and asked.

“Why is Sophia here?”

“She was sleeping in the hallway….”

“That’s not sleeping, she’s broken.”

My master let out a short sigh as he looked at Sophia. My attempt at an excuse, however brief, was mercilessly cut short, and I became gloomy again.

“Don’t tell me this is why you wanted to go to the company?”

“…….”

“I guess I’m right.”

When I could not answer, my master put his hand to his forehead. My shoulders gradually hunched over, as if he were about to scold me for doing something useless.

“I guess a hunk of junk can’t be helped….”

My master muttered as he looked at the broken Sophia.

A hunk of junk….

I mulled over my master’s words and became dejected. Sophia will be thrown away. It felt as if I were looking at my own future, and my mood sank.

While I was staring at Sophia with downcast eyes, I heard a phone ringing tone from the side. When I turned my head, I saw my master making a call to someone.

“Thomas, Sophia is broken again. Did you fix her properly last time?”

• Of course. The main body is old, so it’s inevitable that it breaks down often.

“I’m bringing her over now, so get ready.”

• Alright.

Over the smartphone, I heard Thomas’s familiar voice.

From the conversation, it seemed that this was not the first time Sophia had broken down. It seemed that this had happened often before because she was an old robot.

“What a pain….”

My master finished the call and sighed, looking down at Sophia. I asked dejectedly.

“Master, what will happen to Sophia now…?”

“Of course, she needs to be repaired.”

“So you’re throwing her… huh?”

My master answered in a matter-of-fact tone. I was surprised to hear an answer that was the complete opposite of what I had thought. I had expected him to say that a broken robot is useless and will be thrown away…?

Not thrown away… but repaired? I blinked my eyes, doubting if I had heard correctly. However, my master was just examining the collapsed Sophia.

“I’ll take Sophia for repairs, so you stay home.”

“Yes, master….”

I meekly nodded. My reason for wanting to follow my master was to get Sophia fixed, so there was no reason to follow him anymore.

My master lifted Sophia up effortlessly, without any sign of strain. It had been a struggle for me to even drag her to my room, but my master moved her as if it were nothing.

“Master.”

I called out to my master as he reached for the doorknob, and he turned to look at me. I could not hold back the question I had been wondering about and asked.

“Why do you fix Sophia instead of replacing her with a new robot?”

My eyes met my master’s, but I did not avoid his gaze. My master remained silent for a moment and then answered.

“Because she’s my robot.”

With those words, my master left the room carrying Sophia. My master’s last words stuck in my ears. I stood there for a long time, pondering their meaning.

Half a day had passed since my master left for work with Sophia. I was restlessly guarding the house alone when I heard the sound of the door opening and immediately ran to the entrance. However, Sophia was nowhere to be seen, and my master was standing alone at the door.

“Where’s Sophia?”

“She can’t come today.”

“I see….”

Was she badly broken somewhere? I was worried that it might be a serious problem, but I was relieved to know that Sophia would not be thrown away.

“Is that it?”

“Pardon?”

“I thought you came out to greet me and was thinking you were a little admirable….”

“Ah…. Master, welcome back.”

Hearing my master’s mutter, I belatedly greeted him. At that, my master let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.

“Never mind. What can I expect from a robot.”

My master walked past me and went up to his room. I felt a little intimidated, but I followed my master.

As I climbed the stairs to the second floor, following my master, I rubbed my sleepy eyes. I had tossed and turned last night, and now that my mind was at ease, a wave of drowsiness suddenly washed over me. I wanted to lie down in bed and sleep as soon as possible.