Robot Protection Zone Chapter 43

“It’s spacious…”

My previous master’s lab was a narrow space, whereas here, robots were placed sparsely in a large exhibition hall. It felt a bit empty, but the fact that it was neatly organized resembled the lab.

I looked at the exhibited robots while touring the museum with my master. However, almost none of the robots were powered on. There were only occasional robots that would have a simple interaction with visitors if a button installed by the museum was pressed.

—Hello!

“…”

When I pressed the button, the robot displayed behind the glass greeted me brightly. Even when I pressed it again, it was still the same phrase.

For some reason, it felt like my future self. Will I, too, be locked up in an exhibition hall with my power turned off like the robots here if it’s discovered that I’m useless someday? The thought of that made my heart heavy. Because it really felt like I was only useful in that way.

“Huh?”

As I was walking, a familiar shape caught my eye.

Isn’t that the robot dog my master was making in the past?

I still vividly remembered the expression on my previous master’s face as he laughed sheepishly, saying he wanted to make it small, but it ended up being a large dog when it was completed. I never forgot the robots my master made, so I was sure it was that robot.

“That’s the robot you made, Master!”

I was so happy that I couldn’t hide my excited voice as I exclaimed. However, my master looked at the robot I pointed to, then tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

“I’ve never made anything like that.”

“Ah…”

Realizing my slip of the tongue a moment too late, I quickly added.

“My previous… master.”

“That old man?”

I belatedly corrected the title and watched my master’s expression. Could he be upset…? But my master did not get angry and stared at the robot behind the glass, lost in thought. After pondering for a moment, my master muttered as if he had come to a conclusion.

“I’ll have to take it and investigate.”

“Pardon? But that’s just an ordinary robot…”

“No, I can’t ignore the possibility that something is hidden. That was my grandfather’s favorite method, after all.”

But that’s really just an ordinary robot dog that could be used as a pet… However, my master, with a very serious face, was already calling over the museum manager and talking to him.

A clear image of my master in a few days, clicking his tongue and saying he wasted his time because nothing came of it, was drawn in my mind. I looked at my master with a sullen face, then slowly looked around.

At that moment, I saw a familiar figure.

“Uh…?”

I thought I saw the humanbot that was sold at the charity event a few months ago walking by.

It wasn’t a mistake. It really was that humanbot. It was only for a moment, but the look in his eyes asking for my help was still vividly etched in my circuits.

My master seemed busy talking with the museum manager. It felt like it would be too late if I got permission from my master and then chased after him. No, it was already a little late…!

The thought that I might lose the humanbot made my legs move before I knew it. In the end, without even being able to tell my master, I chased after the humanbot who had disappeared into a corner.

“He definitely went this way…”

I muttered softly and looked around.

I ran in the direction the humanbot had disappeared, but I couldn’t see where he had gone. It seemed I had lost him because the museum was large and complex. I suppose it can’t be helped. Thinking I should go back to my master, just as I was about to turn around, I came face to face with the humanbot coming out from the opposite side.

“Ah…!”

“……!”

Our eyes met, and we both stopped in our tracks.

The humanbot had a surprised expression as soon as he saw me. Judging from his reaction, it seemed this humanbot also remembered me from the charity event. Phew… I was worried his memory might have been erased, but thankfully, it seemed his memory hadn’t been erased.

“Hello!”

I greeted him as I approached him happily. But the humanbot, while looking happy to see me, also seemed somewhat anxious. Finding that a bit strange, I took a closer look at the humanbot and discovered a bruise near his eye and a mark from someone having strangled him.

As my eyes widened in surprise, the humanbot turned his head to hide the injuries.

Only then did I remember that the humanbot had been sold to a strange person. I had hoped it wasn’t true… It seemed my anxious premonition from that time was correct.

I became solemn. I, too, had been abandoned by my old master and met a new master, but my master wasn’t such a bad person. He just played mischievous pranks, but there was a gentle side to him that sometimes peeked through.

But this good fortune did not come to all robots. I looked at the robot in front of me quietly and asked.

“Is there anything I can do to help you…?”

“I’m fine. Please go back to your master quickly before my master finds you.”

The humanbot shook his head and hurriedly tried to send me away. It seemed his master was nearby.

If so, I couldn’t let this humanbot go alone all the more. Couldn’t my master help this humanbot? Even though he seems cold, my master is someone who cares for me and robots. It felt like even if my master wasn’t too keen on it, he would listen if I asked.

“Come with me! If we go to my master’s company, you can get your injuries treated and any broken parts repaired.”

“……”

“My master even took in the serving robot that was being abandoned at the charity event…! So he will definitely help you!”

As I kept persuading him, the humanbot’s eyes wavered. Not missing that, I continued to speak more persistently, and finally, his expression crumbled. The humanbot opened his mouth with a look of pleading for my help.

“I… Ah…!”

However, the humanbot couldn’t finish his sentence and suddenly froze. What was he so surprised by? I noticed the fear mixed in his eyes and was about to turn around, but I suddenly felt my neck cover being forcibly opened.

“……!”

I tried to react quickly, but before I could move, my power button was pressed.

“Gasp!”

As soon as the power turned on, I gasped for air. What on earth had happened? My last memory was blurry. Because my power was suddenly turned off, my memories were jumbled up and I was confused.

As soon as I came to my senses, I struggled without properly checking my surroundings, but I felt my hands and feet were tied. I fell into a deeper panic, and my vision went black.

“Wait, it’s okay…! It’s just me here now!”

Then I heard a familiar voice. As I slowly focused my trembling gaze, I saw the face of the humanbot I had been talking to just before my power was turned off.

Ah…

Only then did I begin to calm down a little and look around.

It was an unfamiliar place. A narrow, empty room with no furniture or windows. My hands and feet were tied tightly to prevent me from escaping.

I had no idea where this place was. At least, it was certain that it wasn’t the robot museum I had visited with my master.

“Wh-where is this?”

“It’s my master’s house. I’m sorry, I tried to stop him…”

The humanbot looked at me apologetically. On the face of the humanbot who was apologizing to me, a new, dark blue bruise had formed on his cheek in the meantime. It seemed he had been hit by his master again while trying to protect me.

This robot’s master… it was the man who had stared at me with a lecherous gaze at the auction house. Just thinking of that face gave me the creeps. Realizing I had been kidnapped by such a person, my body began to tremble slightly with fear.

The humanbot started to untie my tightly bound limbs.

Watching him, I was gradually able to grasp the situation. I had really been kidnapped. I think I finally understood why my master had said humanbots get kidnapped if they wander around alone. Because if their power is suddenly turned off like this, they can’t even resist and are dragged away to be sold for a high price.

And yet I ignored my master’s advice…

My mind became complicated.

Like in the movie I watched with my master, would my master come to rescue me, who had been kidnapped…? The protagonist in the movie searched for the kidnapped robot until the end and saved him. But, that was just a movie.

I didn’t think my master would come to rescue me. He might even give up on looking for me, saying it was a bother. Or he might be glad that a hindrance was gone…

While gloomy thoughts filled my mind, my hands and feet were untied. I cautiously moved my newly freed body, then belatedly expressed my gratitude to the humanbot who had helped me.

“Thank you…”

I tried to get up now, but my legs wouldn’t obey. Perhaps because I was so shocked, my whole body was trembling. On top of that, it seemed I had hit the floor hard when my power was turned off, as various parts of my body throbbed with pain.

“Let’s get out of here first. We have to escape quickly while my master is away.”

Seeing me get up, the humanbot opened the door and urged me to escape quickly. I nodded my head to agree with his suggestion, but as soon as the door opened, I froze at the scene that unfolded before my eyes.