Robot Protection Zone Chapter 16

My master gave a short laugh at that sight.

“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t matter. Having you around might bring back some memories.”

Thankfully, my master allowed me to accompany him to the company. I flinched at his subsequent words, but I forced myself to nod and pretend to be unfazed.

And so, with Sophia and Eve seeing us off, I went to work at the company with my master.

Upon arriving at the office, my master immediately began working, and I sat on the sofa, sipping the warm drink the secretary had brought me.

My master showed no intention of getting up from his seat. Even lunch was a simple sandwich.

I endured the boredom by just looking around every corner of the office with my eyes. It was not until late in the afternoon that my master finally stood up from his seat.

“Are you finished with your work?”

“Not yet. Just taking a short break.”

When my master sat next to me, my body swayed slightly with the sofa.

“I thought you’d say you were bored and ask to go back soon, but you’re waiting well, aren’t you?”

My master asked me as if it were unexpected.

“I used to wait often when my previous master was working, too.”

“Right, you said you spent five years in a research lab, didn’t you.”

I nodded my head. I was confident in my ability to wait.

“Master, may I ask you one thing?”

Suddenly, a question that had come to mind while listening to the meeting yesterday resurfaced. It was also a thought I had as soon as I saw Sophia, who looked different from me.

“What is the reason that humanbots disappeared?”

“Manufacturing was banned a long time ago due to some ethical issues. And the one who spearheaded the manufacturing ban was none other than your former master and my damn grandfather.”

My former master? At the mention of him, I looked at my master with surprised eyes. At that, my master asked as if it were strange.

“He was your master too. You didn’t know?”

“I didn’t know….”

“Then it must have happened after your power was turned off.”

“…….”

“I don’t understand why, after creating something like a humanbot, he would go so far as to make a law to ban it, and even completely destroy the manufacturing methods.”

So that’s what happened after my power was turned off….

Why did my previous master ban the creation of humanbots? Did he dislike the time he spent with me that much…? To the point where he never wanted to see a humanbot like me again….

“As you’ve heard, I plan to restore humanbots. The problem is that my grandfather destroyed all the related materials, so there’s nothing left. Many have tried to restore them so far, but all have failed.”

“Yes….”

“Do you know how to make robots?”

“I only watched my master make robots, so I don’t know….”

I quietly shook my head. Making robots was not something I could do. Creation was a domain solely belonging to my master.

“Then it would be impossible to entrust you with the manufacturing of humanbots.”

“I’m sorry….”

“It’s fine. It’s not like I expected much, and I didn’t think it would be solved this easily.”

My master muttered indifferently. I couldn’t be of help again…. But my master’s reaction of not even having any expectations in the first place was even more hurtful.

My master went back to his seat and started working again, and I sat dejectedly, quietly repeating the act of waiting.

“Welcome, William, Didi.”

When we returned home, Sophia greeted my master and me. It was a greeting no different from usual, but one thing was different.

Eve was by Sophia’s side.

“We’re home!”

I greeted Sophia and Eve, who had come out to meet us, happily and entered the house. Sophia, whom I had been avoiding all this time, no longer felt scary, and the guilt of not being able to help Eve also gradually faded.

My master said he still had work to do and went upstairs first, and I walked around the house with Eve, who was in charge of cleaning the first floor.

Then I found Sophia clattering in the kitchen. Seeing the delicious smell wafting out, it seemed she was preparing dinner.

She looks busy…. Is there anything I can do to help? I hovered around Sophia and asked.

“Sophia, is there anything I can help with?”

Sophia looked at me and fell silent for a moment, as if processing the thought. Soon, a voice flowed from beyond her smooth face.

“Would you please inform William that dinner will be ready in thirty minutes?”

“Yes!”

That’s an easy task!

I nodded confidently and headed to my master’s room. Eve, who had been following me, could not climb the stairs and paced around on the first floor. I waved to Eve, saying I would be right back, and went upstairs where my master was.

“Master, may I come in?”

• …….

I arrived in front of my master’s room and knocked, but no answer came for a long time. What should I do… My master said he would kick me out if I entered his room without permission….

After contemplating, I quietly opened the door and peeked inside.

My master, who I thought would be working, was not near the desk. I couldn’t hear the sound of a shower, so he wasn’t washing up either….

Rolling my eyes around, I found my master lying on the bed, asleep.

Umm….

Come to think of it, he looked tired since this afternoon…. I debated whether to let him sleep a little longer, but in the end, I decided to wake him up. Making sure he ate his meals is also the role of a robot serving a master.

“Master.”

“…Didi?”

As I approached the bed and gently shook my master to wake him, his eyelids twitched. Soon, my reflection was captured in his hazy blue eyes, still clouded with sleep.

“Sophia said in thirty minutes… Woah!”

My master pulled my arm. I was pulled so suddenly that I couldn’t keep my balance and fell on top of my master.

I bumped my nose against his hard chest. It throbbed as if my nose would bleed, so I hurriedly tried to get up, but my master hugged me tightly, leaving me unable to move.

“Ma, master…!”

“Stay still.”

As I struggled to get out of my master’s embrace, his voice, low with sleepiness, stuck in my ear.

As soon as I heard my master’s command, I froze. This… is a command, right…? As I was contemplating, I heard the sound of regular breathing from above my head.

Did he fall asleep again…?

A peek. I slightly lifted my head and saw my master’s peacefully sleeping face.

Come to think of it… this was the first time I had looked at my master’s face from this close. I was always so busy avoiding his gaze whenever our eyes met because of his constantly frowning expression and scary eyes.

Not wanting to miss this rare opportunity, I decided to quietly observe my master’s face.

His sharp facial features still retained a cold atmosphere even with his eyes closed. Today, perhaps because he was tired, that coldness seemed a little deeper.

His peacefully closed eyes really resembled my previous master a lot. That’s probably why I was mistaken on the day I first met my master. That my old master who had abandoned me had returned to me.

But now that I know how different the two of them are, it seemed that unless he was asleep like this, I would no longer see the two of them overlapping.

When I rested my head on my master’s chest, a faint scent tickled my nose. It was the familiar scent of cologne I had smelled when I was massaging his shoulders. The steady, heavy beat of his heart pounded in my ear. A warm heat slowly enveloped my cheek, as if seeping in.

Storing my master’s biological signals in my mind, I slowly relaxed my body.

It was the first sense of stability I had felt since waking up in the distant future. How long has it been since my heart felt this at ease?

My eyes were blinking shut. A sense of languor settled over my whole body, as if fatigue were belatedly catching up to me.

…A little while should be okay, right.

Thinking that, I had only intended to close my eyes for a moment, but I unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

Swish.

Through the half-open crack in the door, Sophia entered William’s room. Her camera, mounted beneath the surface of her face, detected the figures of William and Didi, sleeping soundly on the bed.

Sophia, who had approached the bed, said.

“William, it is time to wake up.”

Hearing the dry, emotionless voice waking him up, William’s eyes slowly opened.

“…How long did I sleep?”

“Approximately one hour has passed since you went up to your room.”

“Then I must have slept for about thirty minutes….”

He had only intended to rest for a moment, but it seemed he had fallen into a deep sleep. The moment he tried to sit up to avoid wasting any more time, he felt a light weight pressing on his upper body. When he looked down, he saw Didi, sleeping soundly in his arms.