Robot Protection Zone Chapter 63

From the morning, the atmosphere was noisy and bustling.

“You lump of scrap metal… Is the command to not move that difficult?”

— (/ `⌒´)/

“Ugh…! I said stay still!”

My master and Eve were in the middle of a struggle at the entrance.

The weekend passed, and news arrived that Thomas had returned from his business trip. We had decided to have Eve inspected when Thomas returned, so today, we had to take Eve to work with us.

However, a small problem occurred in the process.

Eve only had wheels, so she couldn’t get over thresholds or stairs. In the end, my master had to lift and carry her, but Eve was too heavy. Eve was originally a serving robot used at event venues, so she was designed to carry a lot of food at once, which likely made her heavy.

My master scolded Eve, telling her not to move. On the surface, it looked like Eve was being unilaterally picked on, which made me feel sorry for her, but I just watched them cautiously, thinking that if I needlessly took Eve’s side, my master might treat Eve even more harshly.

“Master, shall I help you?”

“With that arm? Step back before the number of robots I need to entrust to Thomas for repairs increases to two.”

“Okay…”

I had stepped forward for no reason only to have my spirit crushed, so I quietly retreated.

I glanced down at my arm. Unlike my master’s, it was soft, without a single muscle. I had never worked out, but being a robot, I figured muscles wouldn’t build easily. I tried to console myself by thinking of it as a natural difference between humans and robots.

“For a serving robot, you’re ridiculously heavy.”

— 🙁

After finally getting Eve into the back seat, we departed for the company. During the entire ride to the company, I anxiously looked back several times at Eve, who was laid down in the back seat.

Will Eve really be okay?

I hoped it was just a temporary error, but my master’s words about her acting strange from time to time kept weighing on my mind, and my worries didn’t subside.

Upon arriving at the company, my master and Eve started bickering and fighting again during the process of getting Eve out of the car. Eve, who barely managed to get out of the car, rolled her wheels a few times as if stretching her stiff body.

“From here, walk on your own.”

When my master commanded in an annoyed voice, Eve started heading toward the building on her own, rolling her wheels, as if that had been her intention all along.

Although Eve started moving boldly, today was the first time she had ever been out in the world. What if Eve suddenly veered off in another direction and went somewhere completely wrong?

I anxiously followed behind Eve. I walked, guiding Eve so she could get to Thomas’s lab, but contrary to my worries, Eve followed along very well. Was I worrying for nothing? Hoping that Eve’s inspection results would also be fine, I stopped in front of Thomas’s lab.

“You’re here?”

As we entered Thomas’s lab, Thomas greeted us. I gave a slight bow and quietly exchanged a nod of greeting with Nick, who was also there.

“Thomas, how was your trip?”

“The raw materials were being supplied well, and there weren’t any particular problems. At this rate, it looks like we’ll be able to launch on schedule.”

“That’s a relief.”

As soon as they met, my master and Thomas immediately started talking about the new product.

I stood in a corner with Eve and watched my master blankly. But no matter how much time passed, their talk about the new product didn’t end, so I cautiously approached my master and asked.

“Master, what about Eve…?”

Only then did the topic of conversation shift to Eve.

“Thomas, take a look at this when you have time.”

“Ah, it’s that serving robot you left with me before, right?”

“There’s something wrong with this thing. It doesn’t seem to recognize its own master.”

“Really? That’s strange… I’ll investigate it. Do you want to leave her with me for a few days?”

My master nodded. I had thought the inspection would be over in a day like mine was, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Flustered by the unexpected separation, I asked Thomas.

“Will it take a long time…?”

“No, a serving robot’s programming is simple, so it won’t take long. Three days at the most?”

Even three days was a long time for me, but I was relieved it wouldn’t take longer than that and looked at Eve.

We’ll have to be apart for a while… Hoping Eve wouldn’t be lonely during that time, I said my final goodbyes.

“Eve, I’ll be back to get you soon…”

— ( ;⌒; )

Watching Didi and Eve clinging to each other as if they were parting forever, William and Thomas started talking again.

“William. I saw the article. You pulled off something pretty big, didn’t you?”

Thomas said, holding out his smartphone. On the screen, a familiar scene was displayed along with an article.

[William Spencer’s New Lover, A Robot This Time?]

It was the scandal with Didi from last weekend. A huge photo of William kissing Didi in the middle of the street was plastered on the main page of the article. Below it, the fact that Didi was a Humanbot and information about the new humanoid model to be released were added.

“Did you do that to promote the new product?”

“It wasn’t for that.”

He hadn’t intended it as noise marketing from the start. Though, looking at the public’s reaction now, it seemed to have had that effect as a result.

William was not the type to be swayed by the opinions of others. Besides, no matter what others said, not kissing Didi there would have been close to impossible.

William turned his head to look at Didi. Every time he looked at Didi, the image of him smiling happily while surrounded by robots was still superimposed over him.

Thomas, who was watching him, lowered his voice and spoke.

“William, I’m just asking, just in case…”

As if worried Didi might hear, Thomas continued in almost a whisper.

“You’re not actually in love with Didi, are you?”

“No.”

William answered immediately.

There was no need to even think about it. Because Didi was a robot.

Love? The thing he found most pathetic were people who genuinely shared affection with robots.

Robots weren’t living creatures like dogs or cats; they broke and malfunctioned at the slightest provocation, and even their memories and emotions could be easily manipulated. There was nothing more pointless than wasting emotions on such things.

Seeing William return to his usual self, Thomas continued.

“Well, that’s a relief then. Just looking at what you’ve been doing, you seemed completely head over heels in love.”

“……”

“It’s good to see a change in you, who used to be averse to robots… but the timing is really bad. You understand, right? If you’re going to cause any trouble, please do it a little later.”

“…Right.”

“I don’t think you need to take this article down. Everyone seems to think you did it to promote the new product.”

After finishing their conversation, William left Thomas’s lab with Didi. He watched Didi wave and say his final goodbyes to Eve, then returned to his office.

Back in the office, Didi sat on the sofa and dozed off, just like usual.

On the surface, the atmosphere was peaceful, but the expression on William’s face as he looked at Didi was not. Thomas’s question asking if he loved Didi kept echoing in his mind.

Did I have a face that looked completely in love? Ridiculous. William denied the words and roughly wiped his face.

Love? Of course not. Although he had kissed and slept with Didi a few times, that was done within the relationship of a robot and its master.

“……”

William slowly scanned Didi’s sleeping face.

The jet-black hair that fluttered softly, the two tightly closed eyes, the fair and smooth skin, the gentle shape of his eyes that couldn’t be hidden even when closed, and the moist, soft lips.

Everything fit William’s tastes so perfectly it was sickening. So, it was understandable that others might misinterpret his gaze toward Didi, and he could understand why Thomas had brought it up.

However, just as he was about to dismiss it as Thomas’s misunderstanding no matter how much he thought about it, he suddenly remembered Didi blushing and looking happy after seeing the scandal article.

How cute.

William let out a soft laugh without realizing it, then immediately hardened his expression. It was because his own smiling face was reflected in the glass on one side of the office.

William was in great shock. He realized that this was the kind of expression Thomas had been talking about. Even to his own eyes, it was the pathetic face of someone who had completely fallen in love.

William, who remained in shock for a long time, was finally forced to admit that Didi kept looking lovely to him. It was hard to even tear his gaze away from Didi’s quietly closed eyes. But this was an emotion that William could never accept.

Yes, this is a delusion. By keeping a robot by his side that expressed its affection for him with its entire being, he himself had caught those feelings. This was like a cold. A light emotional confusion that would naturally disappear with time if he kept his distance from the cause.

And the cause of all this right now was Didi. If he kept Didi at a distance, William would naturally return to his old self soon enough. So, to calm his wavering heart, he decided to keep Didi away from his side for the time being.

“Didi.”

When he called his name, Didi, who had been dozing off, jumped in surprise and lifted his head.

“Master, did you call me?”

“You can go home first today.”

Didi, who was still not fully awake, blinked with an expression that said he didn’t understand the situation. Even that expression looked so lovely that William hastily averted his gaze.

William clenched his fist tightly. He felt like if he kept looking at him, he would end up kissing him again. Just as he had every day.

“Are you telling me to go home now?”

“Yes. I have a lot to take care of today. I think you’ll be a distraction if you’re here, so go on ahead.”

“Okay…”

When he deliberately added harsh words, Didi got up from his seat, looking dejected. Why was the way he briefly looked back at the door before leaving and his crestfallen face also so cute? He barely suppressed the impulse to call Didi back.

Only after the door closed and Didi was out of sight did his thoughts begin to function properly again.

“Damn it…”

William once again looked at his face reflected in the glass. What was reflected there was not the usual cold and confident William Spencer. It was the face of a pathetic, disgraceful man who had completely fallen in love.