Robot Protection Zone Chapter 31

Families watching a movie on a picnic blanket, couples whispering quietly while leaning on each other’s shoulders. People were watching the movie, laughing and happy together in the warm atmosphere.

Just watching the scene made my heart flutter. I envied their time spent with someone precious. I, too, wanted to sit beside someone and silently share the same moment.

“Master, can’t we watch the movie in the park too?”

“Let’s eat dinner first.”

I asked suggestively, filled with the desire to go, but the Master was firm. But by then, the movie would already be over…

“Yes…”

“Haaah…”

As I sulked and stared out the window, the Master sighed and turned the steering wheel slightly. He didn’t say anything, but it meant he was giving permission. My spirits lifted, and my expression brightened.

As soon as we parked near the park, I hurried my steps, urging the Master on. But as we were about to cross the street, a savory and salty smell wafted from somewhere. It was coming from a hot dog truck parked right next to us.

The mouth-watering smell naturally slowed my steps.

Come to think of it, I am kind of hungry…

When I stopped walking while looking at the hot dogs in people’s hands, the Master followed my gaze, turned his head, and asked as if in disbelief.

“What now? Hot dogs?”

“Ah, no… It’s just that it smells delicious…”

“……”

With a hot dog in each of our hands, the Master and I headed to the park where the movie was being shown.

Many people had already settled down in the park. People sitting on picnic blankets on the grass, people sitting on benches… Fortunately, there was a good spot in a corner, so the Master and I sat down together.

I hadn’t realized it when watching from afar, but there were more people than I expected. The Master looked around with an expression that said he couldn’t understand them and muttered.

“Why would anyone watch a movie in a place like this? It’s just loud and uncomfortable.”

“Still… it’s nice to see people’s smiling faces, and it’s nice to make memories with a precious person in such good weather.”

“For such a trivial reason…”

The Master grumbled but began watching the movie, taking a bite of his hot dog.

I followed the Master and took a big bite of my hot dog. The hot sausage, ketchup, mustard, diced onions, and soft bun mingled in my mouth. Maybe because I was eating it in the cool night air, it seemed to taste even more delicious.

I started watching the movie from the middle, so I didn’t quite understand the plot. But thanks to the Master briefly explaining the summary from beside me, I was able to gradually follow the flow of the film. When I asked how he knew the past events so well, the Master answered that it was a famous movie he had watched when he was young.

Songs and music flowed throughout the movie, leaving no room for boredom.

Once the warm hot dog was gone from my stomach, I belatedly started to feel the chill. As I rubbed my cold arms and hunched my shoulders, the Master quietly pulled me closer by the shoulder.

“Master…?”

“It would be a nuisance if a robot like you caught a cold.”

My heart, which had been quiet for the past few days, began to pound again as if it had broken down. When the Master, who was always scary and cold, showed such a gentle side sometimes… it made my heart feel complicated for some reason.

This movie was a romance, but thankfully, there were no robots in it, so I could watch it comfortably. But the moment a kissing scene came on, I found myself glancing at the Master without realizing it. When our eyes met as he felt my gaze, I was startled and hastily turned my head back to the screen.

After the movie ended, we came straight back home.

The house was quiet, as if Sophia was still charging. Perhaps because Sophia wasn’t there to greet me, it felt a little empty. Instead, I greeted Eve cheerfully and entered the house.

After getting ready for bed, I headed to the Master’s room again today. As I cautiously opened the door and stepped inside, the Master saw me, who had returned after just one day, and asked.

“Are you planning to sleep here today?”

“Yes, the sofa is a bit uncomfortable…”

The Master replied as if he didn’t really care, telling me to do as I pleased. His attitude was still indifferent, but his expression was definitely softer than when I had told him I would sleep separately yesterday.

Actually, the sofa being uncomfortable was an excuse. I just wanted to sleep next to the Master. I also wanted to savor the lingering feeling of the movie I saw today a little longer by the Master’s side.

As I lay down in bed, I asked a light question.

“Will Sophia be done charging by tomorrow morning?”

“Yes.”

I closed my eyes, imagining Sophia greeting me with Eve again starting tomorrow. Just then, something occurred to me.

“Master, come to think of it, I think I’ll need to charge soon, too.”

“What?”

The Master shot up and looked down at me. His expression seemed to ask why I was only telling him that now.

But I couldn’t help it since I’d just thought of it… At the Master’s reaction, I also cautiously sat up, watching his expression.

“How much battery is left?”

“Um… I can still move for two more days.”

“I wonder if the human-bot charger is at the company…”

The Master muttered, pressing his brow firmly. I watched him quietly for a moment, then carefully opened my mouth.

“Um… Master…”

“What is it now?”

“I think the charger might be at my former master’s house.”

“……”

There was a reason I brought it up so cautiously. It was because it was related to my former master.

“When I checked the house, the charger wasn’t there.”

“If you look around the area where I was, I think it might be th—”

Before I could finish my sentence, the Master frowned and turned his head away. My words trailed off on their own at his sharp gaze.

“I said it wasn’t there. I’ll ask Thomas tomorrow, so just go to sleep.”

“Yes…”

I avoided his gaze and lay back down.

To be honest, it wasn’t just because of the charger; I’d brought it up wondering if I might be able to visit the mansion where I used to live with my old master…

But the Master, as if he had read my mind, cut me off firmly so I couldn’t say anything more.

Was it a mistake to bring it up? The air in the room seemed to have gotten a little heavy for some reason.

The next morning, the first thing I saw when I came down to the first floor was Sophia, done charging and moving around. I exchanged happy greetings with Sophia, who was back to her usual self, and then headed to the company.

“Ah, a charger? Come to think of it, I think there was one in stock. Just a moment.”

As soon as we arrived at the company, the Master and I headed to Thomas’s lab. The lab, which had already been chaotic, seemed to have become an even bigger mess, as if something had happened.

Thomas rummaged through the machine parts scattered everywhere looking for a charger and, fortunately, found one, holding it out to me.

“It’s so old I don’t know if it will work properly. Why don’t you try charging and bring it back if there’s a problem?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Although the charger had been excavated from a pile of dust, it was packaged in vinyl, so the contents looked to be in good condition. I bowed my head to Thomas and left the lab with the Master.

Worried that I might become a burden to the Master if my battery ran out and I suddenly powered down, I began preparing to charge as soon as I entered the office. When I unfastened the red leather necklace and placed it on the desk, the Master came over and asked.

“You’re going to charge now?”

“Yes.”

The Master, seeming curious about my charging process, came and sat next to me.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen the port where you plug in the charger.”

“Ah, it’s a magnetic type that attaches over the power button cover.”

I bowed my head, exposing the back of my neck. The Master’s gaze slowly moved along the line of my neck.

“Come to think of it, the power button was around here.”

With those words, the Master’s fingertips lightly brushed the back of my neck. Flinch. My body trembled slightly. I hadn’t shown him so he would touch it… As it was where the power button was located, it was a sensitive area.

The Master slowly rubbed the back of my neck with his finger, as if to check its texture. Every time his soft finger swept down along my skin, it felt like a strange current was flowing through my whole body. As an increasingly strange feeling began to wash over me, I eventually couldn’t stand it and slightly avoided his touch, saying.

“Master… that tickles a little…”

“So, are you telling me not to touch you?”

“……”

After hesitating, I obediently offered my neck again. The Master watched me flinch as if it were amusing, and only after a long while did he withdraw his hand, seemingly satisfied. Only after I had fulfilled my role as the Master’s toy was I finally able to begin charging.

Click. Along with the sensation of the charger connecting, a warm energy seeped into my body. A feeling of vitality filling my tired body. My former master had once described this feeling as being similar to drinking a warm cup of tea.

As I stayed still with the charger attached to the back of my neck, the Master looked at my stiff form and muttered.

“So human-bots maintain consciousness even while charging.”

“Yes, but if I move, the charger keeps falling off, so I have to stay still.”

Hmm… The Master stared at me quietly. I had a somehow ominous feeling.

Just then, the Master suddenly raised his hand and touched the area of my neck where the charger was attached.

“Eek…!”

As I hunched my shoulders because it tickled, the Master moved his finger again, looking amused.

“Master…! D-don’t do that!”

The Master’s hand pressed down on the sensitive back of my neck, and he tickled the area around the power button with his finger. I flinched and, without thinking, pushed his face away. Gasp. Startled, I tried to quickly pull my hand back, but the Master suddenly licked my palm.

“Ah!”

Crash!

Horrified, I shot up from my seat. Because of that, the charger even rolled onto the floor.

“Alright. I won’t touch you anymore, so keep charging.”

The Master spoke calmly, but the corner of his mouth was trembling subtly as he tried to hold back a laugh. He was definitely planning to tease me again. The moment I saw that expression, my desire to charge any further completely vanished.

In the end, I gave up on charging and just left work.