Robot Protection Zone Chapter 76

He had now heard everything he needed to know. He was about to get up from his seat, but one thing suddenly bothered him.

It was the fact that Didi had stayed here for quite a long time. No matter how much he needed to charge, it was a little different from Didi’s past behavior, as he had never stayed in one place for long before.

William scanned the humanbot in front of him.

Didi often felt a deep sense of intimacy with robots rather than people. If that was the case, he might have confided something to this man.

“…By any chance.”

William opened his mouth.

“Did Didi say anything about why he left home?”

A moment of silence passed.

William stared intently at the man before him. William’s demeanor seemed nonchalant at a glance, but within it, a hint of desperation he couldn’t quite hide was visible.

“He said he left home because his master no longer needed him.”

Enoch answered.

William couldn’t say anything. No longer needed? Did he think that after seeing the scandal with my new partner? Was that why he seemed to have made up his mind, left home, and never looked back?

“…Why did you tell him where Didi was headed even after hearing that?”

“Because I thought if you really considered him unnecessary as Didi said, you wouldn’t have been looking for him. That’s why I contacted you when I heard the news that you were searching for Didi.”

The man closed his mouth for a moment, then quickly added.

“Didi cried every day. He would often stare blankly out the window… But then, on the rare occasions he talked about his master, his eyes would sparkle. That’s how I knew. He wasn’t ready to part ways yet, but he had forced himself to leave.”

“…”

“I know because I’m a humanbot, too. What it feels like to not want to leave your master, but to feel like you can’t be by their side anymore.”

William couldn’t say a word.

Until now, he had only thought about why Didi had left home and what he himself had done wrong. He had never even imagined… what Didi must have been feeling as he wandered around outside after leaving home.

Barely collecting himself, William drank the rest of the coffee in his cup and stood up.

“Thank you for your cooperation. If we find Didi based on what you’ve told me, the promised reward…”

“Ah, I don’t need the reward.”

The man shook his head firmly. William was momentarily flustered. He had offered so much money, and he was giving it up?

The amount he had offered was by no means small. No matter how wealthy the robot’s master was, living in a house like this with a humanbot, it wasn’t an amount one could easily give up. That money was enough to live a life of luxury, and to buy several more houses like this one all over the world.

“Then is there something else you want?”

“If you find Didi again, could you please tell him that he’s welcome to come visit here anytime?”

“…Is that all you want?”

“Yes. I enjoyed the time I spent with Didi. And of course, my master misses Didi a lot, too.”

William’s expression hardened slightly. It seemed Didi had gotten along very well here. As if his father wasn’t enough, he had managed to charm another person like this in such a short time.

“…I understand.”

He wanted to offer his entire fortune and warn them to never come near Didi again, rather than deliver that message. But these were the people who had told him the whereabouts of Didi, whose location had been a mystery and who he had thought he might never find again. William had no choice but to nod.

Returning to his car, William immediately took out his tablet and opened the map.

“The place he has to go… the place he has to go…”

The map showed the locations where Didi had been found so far. When he added the new location he had just received, a general direction began to emerge.

At first, the sporadic dots heading toward the outskirts didn’t reveal a clear direction, but after marking a new point quite far away, he thought he knew where Didi was headed.

Far away, a place that required a long drive even by car—the old mansion where his grandfather, Didi’s former master, had lived.

Grit. William’s teeth ground together. The “place he has to go” that Didi mentioned must have meant that place. Why hadn’t he realized this sooner? The only places Didi would likely go were his own house and that dilapidated mansion where Didi had been trapped.

William immediately started the engine and stomped on the accelerator.

It was late, and since it was an outlying area, there were thankfully few cars on the road. If he had driven like this in the city, he would surely have gotten into an accident.

William’s car cut through the darkness, racing at a speed that felt dangerous. Towards the place where Didi was.

The entire way to the mansion, he checked the roads several times, scanning to see if Didi had perhaps collapsed on the roadside. His eyes grew incredibly tired. If it hadn’t been for the coffee he’d had at that house, his vision would have already been blurry. He felt exhausted, as if he had used up a lifetime’s worth of concentration.

By the time he arrived at his grandfather’s mansion, the sky was still dark.

A gloomy mansion, sitting alone in the darkness. It hadn’t been visited by anyone in a long time, so it was completely unmaintained.

William entered the mansion and walked quietly, his eyes scanning every nook and cranny.

Contrary to how he had rushed over, William was being quite cautious. He wasn’t certain that Didi, who had run away from him, wouldn’t run away again upon seeing him. And if Didi did run away this time, he didn’t know if he would ever be able to find him again.

He searched the first floor thoroughly, but Didi was nowhere to be seen. In that case…

William’s gaze turned to the stairs leading to the second floor.

William quietly climbed the stairs and opened a door. The inside was dark and there was no sign of anyone. Fumbling for the switch, he pressed it, and the room instantly lit up, revealing the back of a black head he had missed so dearly. Didi was sitting slumped inside a glass tube.

“Didi…!”

It was strange that Didi didn’t stir at all when the surroundings suddenly brightened. Holding his breath, he approached Didi and saw him inside the glass tube with his eyes closed, just like when they had first met. It seemed his power was off.

Didi’s body was a mess.

He was covered in scratches from walking such a long distance, and though he wasn’t bleeding, the patches of scraped skin tore at William’s heart tenfold. Didi’s treasured clothes were also torn and frayed in places, which must have pained Didi’s heart.

He carefully opened the cover on the back of his neck and pressed the power button, but there was no response. He was startled for a moment, but quickly composed himself.

Did the battery die? He’ll wake up if I charge him.

William carefully lifted Didi. He considered straightening Didi’s body, which had gone stiff in a seated position, but left it as it was, worried he might damage it.

He walked out of the mansion, holding the cold, still Didi in his arms. The sun was just beginning to rise, heralding the morning. He carefully placed Didi in the back seat and drove slowly towards the Spenic headquarters.

As soon as he arrived at the company, William headed for Thomas’s lab.

“Agh! Wi-William?”

As he burst through the door, Thomas, who had just arrived at work, yelped in surprise. He soon realized the unannounced visitor was William and calmed down, but then his eyes widened again when he saw the disheveled robot held in a strange position in his arms.

“Didi…? It really is Didi! Where did you find him?”

But there was no time for explanations. William asked immediately.

“Do you have any humanbot chargers in stock?”

“Ah… sorry, I don’t. I just sent Nick on an errand, so he won’t be back until next week…”

“You don’t have any compatible chargers either?”

“We have to make a custom one.”

William’s brow furrowed. He had finally found Didi, only to be unable to reunite with him because there was no charger. But just having Didi in his arms was reassuring, so he could graciously wait a day or two.

“One day should be enough.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Two days.”

“Have you lost your mind?”

“…How long will it take?”

William’s brow furrowed. Seeing William suggest such an absurd timeframe, Thomas let out a deep sigh as well.

“It will take at least a week.”

“I’ll give you three days.”

“A week, minimum.”

“…Can’t you do it in four?”

“Let’s just do a check-up first. He looks like he’s been through a lot.”

Thomas changed the subject. William hesitated, as if he didn’t want to let Didi go from his arms, but after Thomas urged him repeatedly, he finally, reluctantly, placed him on the repair table.

The glare he shot at the hands touching Didi for the check-up was fierce. It was a look that seemed to say that even contact for the sake of repairs was unpleasant.

Thomas clicked his tongue inwardly, sensing that his friend and boss, who had once seen robots as mere machines, had truly fallen completely for Didi. At this point, even William wouldn’t be able to deny it.

He wanted to tease him endlessly, but William looked ready to stab him to death with his eyes at any moment. Before that could happen, he quickly began to focus on examining Didi’s body.