Robot Protection Zone Chapter 2

My master was as beautiful as ever.

His gently flowing blond hair was like brilliant gold, and his deep, blue eyes seemed to hold the deep, calm sea within them. His sharp shoulders and broad chest were so warm and cozy that I wanted to throw myself into them without end.

However, the familiar face felt somehow foreign. His once warm gaze had turned cold, and a chill had seeped into his once gentle smile. And, as if time had flowed backward, my master looked somewhat younger. The more I looked, the more different he was from my master.

I realized it a little late. This person was not the master with the gentle touch that I remembered.

“You are not… my master, are you?”

The circuits that had been excited with joy at seeing my master after a long time quietly settled down. Disappointment. What I am feeling now is disappointment. The same feeling I had when my master first left me to sleep in another room. It was a feeling I knew all too well.

“That’s right. That old man is dead.”

My master is…?

I lifted my head, which had been slightly bowed, and looked at the man who resembled my master. I had felt that a long time had passed since my body started creaking, but I did not know that so much time had passed that my master would have passed away. I, I just, I was just happy… thinking that my master had come to see me again.

I felt like my circuits were going to burst, unable to overcome the flood of emotions. The focus I had barely managed to adjust blurred again.

I looked around. The place was full of my master’s things. The sofa my master always sat on, the teacup he cherished…. Strangely, the items that should have been scattered in other places were all packed tightly together in one large room.

Just how much time had passed? All I did was close my eyes for a moment and then open them. If I cannot see my master again, then I would rather, I would rather just break down.

It felt like my face was collapsing. My vision was blurry. I wanted to return my contorted eyes and tightly pulled lips back to normal, but they would not go back. The circuits in my chest had been experiencing a huge explosion for a much longer time.

Even when my master said he would turn me off, it had not been this painful.

“Ugh… Heuk….”

I lowered my head and swallowed my sobs. My heart crumbled helplessly in the face of the overwhelming sorrow.

I tried to stop my tears, but they just kept flowing endlessly, as if they were broken. Hot tears dripped, drip drop, onto the carpet.

I started to sob. Now I can no longer see my master’s beautiful, smiling face. It has also become impossible to dream of a happy future with my master. When I closed my eyes to reminisce about my master, only the last image of him turning me off came to mind, making me even more miserable.

The man who had informed me of my master’s death just stood there with his arms crossed, looking down at me with a dry gaze. He watched my miserable state and offered no words, no comfort. Before my sobs could even subside, he opened his mouth.

“How long did you live here?”

“For three years….”

“Three years? It was only that long?”

“For five years before that… I stayed at a laboratory.”

The man’s expression changed subtly. It was clear that he had reacted to the word ‘laboratory’. In that moment, the look in his eyes changed distinctly.

“Then, do you know anything about the location where confidential documents were stored, or about the projects your master was conducting?”

“Pardon me?”

“Anything else is fine too. Something like the manufacturing technology for Humanbots?”

“I am, I am sorry. I do not really understand what you are saying….”

I shook my head from side to side. All I knew about my master were trivial things like the classical music he liked or his breakfast menu; everything that came out of the man’s mouth was unfamiliar and foreign.

As if it was not the answer he wanted, the interest quickly faded from the man’s face. The gaze looking down at me grew cold. My body shrank back from his icy stare.

“It doesn’t look like there are any other important items….”

The man looked around at the surrounding furniture and clicked his tongue briefly. Is he looking for something? But the man’s hands were empty, as if he had not found anything. Soon, the man let out a small sigh and muttered.

“Well, you might remember something as time passes.”

The hand of the man who resembled my master slowly approached me. The warm touch that reached below my eyes stole away my blurry vision. For a moment, I saw a clear world, but it soon blurred again.

“Lift your head.”

At his words, I raised my head without thinking. As our eyes met, the man held out his hand to me.

“From now on, I am your master.”

His voice, which sounded like a gentle whisper, was so much like my master’s that I ended up nodding my head without realizing it.

The world outside, which I came out to following my new master, had turned completely white. As I looked around at the world covered in snow, I felt a chilly cold. It had been summer before I was turned off.

“Ugh….”

When a cold wind blew past, my body shivered. I was still wearing the thin pajamas I had on the day I was turned off, so I let out a sound without realizing it as the cold air touched my bare skin. The new master looked back at me and spoke.

“Get in the car. It’ll be warmer than here.”

Along with his indifferent tone, my master’s black coat was draped over my body. Feeling the warmth, I quickly buried myself inside the clothes.

As the new master said, the inside of the car was definitely warm. I sat huddled in the back seat, looking out the window.

The home I shared with my master was covered in mistletoe and had turned into an old mansion. The once clean yard was unkempt, filled with dried-up plants and messy weeds. It had the atmosphere of an abandoned house, as if it had not been touched by human hands for a long time.

As I was looking out the window for a while, the new master, who had looked around the house one more time, got into the driver’s seat.

“Master.”

The new master looked at me through the rearview mirror. After a short silence, the master placed his hands on the steering wheel and spoke.

“William Spencer.”

“Pardon me?”

“Call me whatever you’re comfortable with. Well, the title ‘Master’ does sound better though.”

“…Then I will call you Master.”

After thinking for a moment, I lifted my head and answered. If I were to lose even the title of Master… it felt like the fact that I was nothing more than an abandoned robot would become clear. Just like an old, worn-out, useless object, belonging nowhere.

Our eyes met, but the master soon turned his gaze to the front without a word. I watched him for a moment and then asked cautiously.

“Where are we going now?”

“First, we have to go home.”

“Home?”

“Yes. My home.”

I once again looked out the window at the mansion where I had lived with my master. To me, this was home…. I realized that I was now serving a new master. And also the fact that I could never see my previous master again.

The car started moving.

The mansion filled with memories of my master grew farther and farther away. I kept watching until the mansion completely disappeared from my sight, then I lowered my head and curled up my body.

“……”

The inside of the car, heading toward my new home, was silent. The new master seemed to be focused only on driving. It was my first time serving a new master, so I did not know how I should act. For now, it seemed that staying quiet would be helpful to my master.

I quietly rolled my eyes while wrapped in my master’s coat like a blanket.

Inside the car, touchscreens and buttons were placed everywhere. A sudden curiosity arose, and when I lightly touched the small screen in front of me, a notification sound rang out and the screen lit up. It was fascinating, but I was startled by the small sound that came on when the screen turned on and glanced at my master. After that, I resolved not to touch anything.

I placed my hands quietly on my lap and looked out at the whitened scenery outside the window. The world was completely covered in white snow.

As time passed, the scenery changed from a field covered in white snow to a street lined with buildings. Seeing the unfamiliar buildings, the new models of cars, and the strange clothes of the people, the fact that a lot of time had passed since I was turned off hit me anew.

As I looked at the unfamiliar world, my heart ached. I breathed out calmly and pressed on my chest, but the pain did not subside.

Is my body broken, or is this also another emotion?

While I was pondering for a long time which one it was, the car stopped. I belatedly realized that we had arrived at the new master’s house.

“Is this your home, Master?”

“Yes.”

Hearing the new master’s words, I was about to get out of the car right away, but I got scared seeing the tree branches swaying wildly. I tightened the coat in preparation for the cold wind and opened the door.

When I got out of the car, the place we arrived at was a wide yard covered in snow. Seeing the clean, untouched snow piled up high, I made a happy face for a moment, then my eyes met the new master’s. Thinking I might have looked too excited, I quickly composed my expression.

“Let’s go inside.”

The new master strode forward. Feeling a little disappointed that I could not properly enjoy the snowy field crunching under my feet, I hurried after my master.

“Welcome, William.”

As we entered the house, a mechanical voice greeted the master.

“Hiek!”

Is it another robot? Curiosity piqued, I looked past my master, and then, startled, I hid myself behind him.

Wh-what did I just see?

“What’s wrong?”

“Ma-Master.”

My master turned to look at me. I met his eyes and timidly raised my finger to point at the robot beyond him.

“I-i-it, it doesn’t have a face.”

My finger trembled. The master looked back and forth between the robot and me, then suddenly burst into loud laughter.

“Master?”

“What are you so surprised about? Robots these days come out without faces.”

“W-without faces?”

I could not believe the new master’s words. I peeked my head out from behind the master once more. I looked at the pure white face with no eyes, nose, or mouth, and then, finding the robot seemingly staring at me silently, I got scared and hid behind my master.

A robot without a face…. The robots I knew had faces, just like me. I felt a sense of distance from the unfamiliar robot’s appearance.

“Is this a guest? I will prepare some tea.”

“No. Stay in your room, Sophia.”

“Yes, William.”

The faceless white robot disappeared inside with a clattering sound of footsteps. It seemed she was sent away because I was scared. While I was feeling sorry, my master beckoned for me to come inside. I hurried into the house.

The interior of the house was spacious and splendid. As soon as I passed the entrance, a large living room and stairs leading to the second floor came into view. If the previous master’s house felt warm and cozy, this place was decorated with white marble and had a cold, urban atmosphere.

“Wait here for a moment.”

“Yes.”

My master said that and went up to the second floor. I sat on the plush sofa and neatly folded the coat my master had lent me, placing it beside me. I was blankly staring at the chandelier hanging from the high ceiling when I saw my master coming down and stood up from my seat. In my master’s arms were some clothes.

“Go get changed in that room over there.”

“Yes.”

I answered obediently and took the clothes my master handed me. Along with a heavy weight, soft and warm clothes were held in my arms. One was a thick brown knit sweater, and the other was a pair of thick black pants.

Holding the clothes, I headed to the room my master indicated with a nod of his head.

“Excuse me….”

As I cautiously opened the door and entered the room, a familiar air enveloped me. A long wooden desk, a chair that looked plush, and bookshelves filling both walls…. Is this a study? For some reason, I thought it felt like my former master’s room.

Feeling a sense of longing, I looked around the room, recalling each and every space I had lived in with my master. Then, I remembered that my new master was waiting for me and hurriedly changed my clothes.