Robot Protection Zone Chapter 48

After I sat and waited for a moment in Mr. Thomas’s lab, my master came to pick me up.

It seemed the check-up had run long, and the time to go home had already passed. The sun had already set, so it looked like we would have to go straight home.

My master nodded his head after hearing from Thomas that it would take some time for the check-up results to come out. I was about to leave the lab with my master when I turned to look back. My eyes met with Thomas’s, and as if he had just then remembered the conversation we just had, Thomas asked my master.

“Ah, William. Didi said he wants to help out in my lab, is that okay?”

“What?”

My master’s face crumpled in an instant.

His gaze, which had been staring coldly at Thomas, turned to me. It was a look that seemed to ask if what Thomas said was true. He didn’t just seem displeased; he looked very, very angry.

I flinched and shrank my shoulders. My master saw my flustered reaction and his face crumpled even more, as if he realized the request was real.

“Pretend you didn’t hear that.”

“Um… okay.”

I couldn’t say anything and followed my master out of the company.

Even in the car on the way home, my master seemed to be in a bad mood. Come to think of it, had there been a time recently when my master’s expression was bright? No, thinking back, he had been like this ever since the day I was kidnapped.

I was only trying to be helpful to my master, but he seemed displeased with me for doing so. But I couldn’t just stay still either. The moment my master judged me to be useless, I would be thrown away.

I no longer knew what I should even say to my master. I just quietly waited to arrive home with my hands clasped on my knees.

“Didi, get out.”

“Huh…? Where is this?”

I thought we were going home, but the place we arrived at was unfamiliar.

When I got out of the car, what I saw was a large, glamorous building situated in the middle of the city. The building’s exterior was made entirely of glass, so the inside was clearly visible. A luxurious atmosphere flowed from the entrance, and upon entering the store, I saw neatly arranged suits.

This place seemed to be a store that made custom suits. My master walked into the store with familiarity, as if it were a place he frequented.

“Welcome, Mr. Spencer.”

“The clothes I commissioned?”

“They are ready.”

“Bring them right away.”

An employee immediately brought the clothes and handed them to my master. However, the clothes the employee brought looked a little small for my master to wear. To be precise… they were a size that would fit me perfectly.

“Didi, try it on and come out.”

Just as I thought, my master handed me the clothes and pointed to the fitting room.

It seemed he had come to get a suit tailored for me, not for himself. I nodded my head and went into the fitting room.

The outfit was a light ivory suit. The color was pale and the lines were soft, so it didn’t have the same stiff feeling as the suits my master wore. There was no tie either, so it felt relatively casual.

I had never had my measurements taken, but strangely, the size was a perfect fit. Thinking it was too strange to be a coincidence, I changed into all the clothes and came out.

“Master, I’ve changed.”

“Stand in front of me.”

My master looked mostly satisfied. While I stood in front of the mirror checking my appearance, the employee handed me shoes as well.

They weren’t dress shoes, but white sneakers. They had a design that wouldn’t look too strange even with the suit I was wearing now.

A question suddenly arose. My master had bought me many clothes, but I didn’t have a single suit since the last one got dirty and was thrown away.

“Master, why am I suddenly trying on a suit?”

“There’s a new product launch presentation tomorrow. You need to attend too, so be aware.”

A presentation….

It must mean I would be attending an official event like last time. I recalled the memory of following him to a charity event not long after I first met him, and my expression darkened.

“Master, do I really have to go too…?”

“Yes. Endure it even if you don’t want to go.”

“Okay…”

The words ‘I don’t want to go’ lingered in my mouth, but in the end, I couldn’t say them and only nodded my head.

I only had bad memories from the first event I attended, so honestly, I didn’t want to go. But seeing my master speak like that, it seemed highly likely my opinion would be ignored no matter what I said.

I returned home, clutching the paper bag containing the suit. I was greeting Eve in a corner of the living room when my master, who had been going up to the second floor, turned around and asked me.

“Are you planning to sleep alone today too?”

“Yes….”

I nodded my head and glanced at my master. If my master commanded it, I was willing to pretend I couldn’t refuse and sleep in his bed again. I had hoped for it inwardly, but my master turned his head without another word.

“I don’t care if you sleep alone, but don’t oversleep tomorrow and wake up early. You can’t be late for the event.”

After saying that, my master resumed walking up to the second floor.

After playing with Eve for a while, I went up to my room, took the clothes out of the luxurious paper bag, and hung them on a hanger so they wouldn’t get wrinkled. Then I curled up and stared at them blankly.

My body was tired from not getting deep sleep lately, but strangely, I didn’t feel like sleeping. It was because of the thought that if I closed my eyes today, I would surely have a nightmare.

When I slept with my master, it was a little better even if I had the same nightmares…. But if I did that, I would obviously disturb my master’s sleep. I didn’t want to be a burden when I wasn’t even helpful.

Should I just turn off my power? And in the morning, Sophia or my master could turn me back on…. I knew it was an absurd thought, but it felt like a less painful method.

If this condition continued for a long time, I thought it might really be better to do that, and I went to sleep alone again today.

The next day, I wore the bright ivory suit my master had newly prepared for me yesterday.

I didn’t wear a tie, and with the sneakers, the overall feeling was casual. The fit was also comfortable, so it was a relief that it wasn’t too inconvenient.

My master was also dressed up in a suit like me, but the atmosphere was distinctly different. A stiff and cold impression flowed from him, creating an unapproachable aura.

Feeling that the distance with my master still hadn’t disappeared, I headed to the company.

The place we arrived at today was somewhere I had never been before. The wide hall was already completely prepared. The presentation was scheduled for the afternoon, but it was bustling with people since the morning. I could also see several reporters preparing for filming.

My master approached a few people attending the event and exchanged greetings. My role was to silently follow beside him with my mouth shut.

“Spencer!”

There were many people, so I was walking close to my master to avoid being separated, when a familiar voice called his name.

When I turned my head, I saw the woman who had come to my master’s office before. She approached my master’s side in an instant and naturally linked her arm with his. My master didn’t push her arm away either.

Suddenly, I remembered the day my master went out with a woman and didn’t return for a long time. Could it be that they had already developed into a romantic relationship without me knowing…?

My lips parted out of curiosity, but I closed them again upon realizing I had no right to interfere in my master’s private life. I was just one of my master’s robots, after all.

But the sight of them with their arms linked affectionately kept coming into my view. Envy kept rearing its head in my heart. I hadn’t even been able to get close to my master recently….

“Oh my, are you two a couple?”

Someone asked that. It wasn’t just my eyes that saw it that way. It seemed other people were thinking the same thing.

I reflexively turned my head toward my master to hear the answer. And my eyes met his.

Huh?

It seemed like my master raised the corner of his mouth as he saw me minding the overly close distance with the woman. But as if it never happened, he turned his gaze away again and continued his conversation with the people naturally.

The sight of my master standing with her looked like a couple to anyone. Probably by tomorrow, the internet would be flooded with articles about their dating rumors. With that thought, I took a step back to put some distance between us.

After that, everyone we met repeated similar questions. I just stood by my master’s side like a fifth wheel, listening to those conversations.

My chest ached. I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut, cover my ears, and run away from this place.

It felt like my eyes were even beginning to sting, and unable to bear it any longer, I quietly spoke to my master.

“Master, my legs hurt….”

My master looked at me and let out a small, dry laugh. It was as if he had seen right through me, that I was making an excuse because I didn’t want to see him standing so intimately with another woman.

“Go sit over there and rest.”

I turned my head in the direction my master’s finger pointed and saw a chair placed in a corner of the hall. I quietly nodded my head and headed there.