Robot Protection Zone Chapter 25

As I sat next to the robot, feeling dejected, my master called me. It seemed I had to go.

Come to think of it, Thomas had asked me to turn off the power. Recalling the request Thomas had left me with, I reached my hand behind the robot’s neck to turn off the power. However, I couldn’t easily press the button. Because I know what it feels like to have the power turned off.

After hesitating for a long time, I quietly whispered in the robot’s ear.

“I’ll come again next time.”

I’ll have to come and visit this robot often so that it won’t be lonely. Leaving a small-voiced farewell, I carefully pressed the button.

The robot’s expression, as its eyes closed with the power turning off, looked somehow peaceful.

“Master, are you finished with your business?”

“Yes. Let’s head back now.”

My master seemed to be in a good mood today. Feeling my own mood lift along with his, I left the research lab with light steps. I felt even more unburdened after going to Thomas’s lab and having my stitches removed.

The sun was beginning to set. The sky, tinged with vermilion, was a signal that my master’s quitting time was approaching.

I gathered my clothes and prepared to go home. Soon after, my master also finished what he was doing and stood up from his seat. As my master looked around the office, our eyes met, and he asked.

“Didi, have you learned how to use the smartphone?”

Recalling the homework my master had left me before we went to the research lab, I nodded my head. As it happened, I had been struggling with the latest model of the device all afternoon, trying to learn how to use the smartphone. If this had been a robot, we would have surely ended up on bad terms.

Even after all that, there were still some functions I hadn’t even touched. It was because it was too difficult to catch up with the technology that had changed over a long time in just half a day.

“Yes, I think I have a good grasp of it now.”

“Then save my number and give me a call.”

I touched the screen, which had become familiar through multiple trials and errors. I entered my master’s number and saved it along with his title. Then, I tapped the screen to make a call.

Soon, my master’s smartphone vibrated. My master, who was looking down at the screen, nodded his head.

“Good job. Now, call me if anything happens.”

My master stroked my head. It was praise I couldn’t hear even when I listened well, participated in experiments, or cleaned…. A sense of pride welled up at the thought that I had finally been praised by my master. Perhaps because I felt good from the gentle touch, my cheeks flushed slightly.

“Are we going home now?”

“No, I’m in a good mood today, so I’m going to go for a few drinks.”

Drinks…? I looked at my master, flustered.

“I’m not very good at drinking….”

“Who said I was taking you?”

“What? Then what about me?”

“Of course, I have to leave you at home.”

My heart instantly fluttered at my master’s as-a-matter-of-fact response.

I didn’t want to wait eagerly at home for my master to come. I was originally used to waiting, but perhaps because I had waited for my master for too long yesterday, this time I didn’t want to be left alone. What if, this time for real, my master never came back….

A vague anxiety filled my mind.

“Please take me with you…!”

My master seemed to ponder for a moment, then finally nodded his head as if he had no choice. And so, I didn’t go home but headed to an unfamiliar place with my master.

When my master said he was going to drink, I thought of the quiet jazz bar my former master used to frequent. But the place we actually arrived at was….

A thumping sound. Garish lights illuminating the dark interior. Strange smoke floating in the air.

He’s drinking in a place like this…?

Thinking we might have come to the wrong place, I stopped at the entrance, but my master was already walking inside as if he were familiar with it. I hurried after him, afraid of losing him.

I walked with tense steps, sticking close to my master, and looked around.

The loud music seemed to beat against my skin. My ears felt muffled, and I thought my eardrums would break. But since I had asked him to take me, I couldn’t say I wanted to go back now. And I was also curious about what kind of places my master liked.

I still didn’t know much about my master. Perhaps the reason I was going this far was that I wanted to know more about him.

“Spencer!”

“Why’s it been so long?”

“I’ve been busy. With incompetents holding on at the company, I have to work.”

My master cheerfully greeted the people inside the establishment. They seemed to be my master’s old friends, as an ease that was rarely seen in his usual behavior emanated from his actions.

I quietly joined the table, following my master.

“Want one?”

“Of course.”

My master accepted a cigarette. He lit it with a practiced motion, and after a light inhale, he slowly exhaled the smoke. The smoke that scattered into the air mixed with the colorful lights and disappeared.

So my master smokes….

Today, too, I learned another new fact about my master and observed the atmosphere.

My master’s friends seemed far from respectable. Their clothes were casual, and their speech was rough. Nevertheless, my master laughed and chatted with them nonchalantly, tipping his glass.

“Ah…!”

Just then, something abruptly came to my waist. Startled by the movement that was blatantly groping my flesh, I lowered my head. The identity of the hand teasing my waist was my master.

“Master…?”

My eyes widened as I looked at my master. But my master was in the middle of talking with his friends without even looking at me. And yet his expression didn’t change one bit, making me doubt my own eyes as to whether it was really my master who was groping me.

“So who’s the person you came with?”

“This?”

Belatedly, the attention turned to me. It seemed like my master was about to introduce me to his friends, so I straightened my back and prepared to greet them.

“I am….”

“This is mine.”

Suddenly, my body leaned sharply toward my master. As I collapsed into his arms, my master, who had pulled me into an embrace, rubbed his cheek against my head. My face flushed hotly at his aggressive action.

“Ma-Master….”

“What, it’s true.”

A strong smell of alcohol wafted from my master as he said that. Is he doing this because he’s drunk? Even though I knew he was simply asserting ownership, I felt strange for some reason.

Hearing the title I used to call my master, people looked at me a little strangely. It must be because they don’t know I’m a robot.

Well, even I had only seen a human-bot like myself at an auction, so I could understand that kind of reaction. In fact, that kind of reaction might even be natural.

Human-bots were not common now. Even the prototype, which was a mass-market version of the human-bot to be released this time, had not yet been released to the world, and rather, the emotionless, mannequin-like robots that were hard to see in the past were more numerous. In this club alone, faceless robots resembling Sophia were walking around here and there.

My master continued to chat with his friends and empty his glass. I just sat awkwardly next to him, watching his reactions.

Even when I tried to listen to the conversation, it was about things I didn’t know, so it was just boring. Still, I didn’t regret following him. Because I was happy to be by my master’s side.

“Are you bored?”

My master asked, seeing me just sitting still, my eyes restlessly darting around. It was true that I was bored, so I honestly nodded my head.

Then, my master picked up the glass that was next to him. Through the transparent glass, I could see a brilliant brown liquid flowing over ice. The liquid, sparkling under the colorful lights, captivated my gaze.

My master placed the half-filled glass in front of me.

“Drink.”

“Yes….”

I picked up the glass. The surface rippled gently, and the clear sound of the ice clinking tickled my ears.

Alcohol is bitter, so I don’t really like it….

Still, it’s my master’s order, so I have to drink it. As I carefully tilted the glass, the strong aroma of whiskey flowed into my mouth. As I was grimacing, my master put a piece of fruit in my mouth.

It was a sweet grape. I hurriedly rolled the round fruit in my mouth to erase the remaining bitter taste.

My master started talking with his friends again. I awkwardly fiddled with my glass, and then, feeling thirsty, I took another sip. Then my master put another piece of fruit in my mouth.

Huh…? Could it be….

I took another sip of alcohol, glancing at my master. Then, a piece of fruit was held out in front of my mouth again.

This time, it was a sweet melon. I slowly savored the softly chewing pulp and glanced at my master.

My master didn’t even seem to notice what he was doing. It seemed to be an unconscious action he was doing while drunk. Is this what being drunk is like? Every time I drank, my master kept feeding me fruit.

I liked it, so I kept repeating it, and before I knew it, the glass was empty.

“Ahaha!”

“So at that time, I….”

The sound of my master and his friends chatting rang loudly in my eardrums.

For some reason, my stomach felt queasy, and my head was dizzy. It also felt like my face was getting hot every time the lights flashed.

I covered my mouth. My face that met my palm was hot. My stomach felt even worse, perhaps because of the cigarette smoke filling the room. In the end, after holding it in and holding it in, I confessed to my master.

“Ma-Master… I feel dizzy….”