Robot Protection Zone Chapter 86

A robot that had approached my side poured wine into my empty glass.

“Th…”

I reflexively started to thank it, but I paused at the feeling of my master’s gaze from beside me.

Ah, my master had told me not to talk to the robots. Remembering his advice belatedly, I closed my mouth. Instead, I gave a slight nod to the robot that had poured my wine.

“Thank you for coming like this. It’s been a long time since the family has gathered to eat together. And we have a welcome guest.”

His father smiled warmly at me. As if in response, I also put a smile on my face and, following his father’s lead in lightly raising his glass, took a sip of wine.

The bittersweet taste of red wine and the faint scent brushing the tip of my nose. It was alcohol I was drinking for the first time in a very long time. I looked into the red-filled glass and was briefly lost in memories as I was suddenly reminded of my old master.

I picked up my fork while listening to the sound of his master’s family members chatting amiably. Mostly, only his father and his master’s siblings were talking, while my master and his mother sat silently.

As I ate the food in front of me, I secretly snuck glances at his master’s family members. They all looked exactly like my old master. The sparkling blond hair, the soft and gentle eyes, even the dimples that appeared when they smiled.

I was stealing glances so fervently that I couldn’t hide my blushing cheeks, when I felt a stare from my side and turned my head. And my eyes met with my master, who was looking at me with what seemed like a look of displeasure.

Ah, was I staring too obviously? Flustered, I lowered my gaze and pretended to focus on the steak on my plate.

“William, is Sophia doing well?”

In the middle of the meal, his master’s older sister asked. Hearing the familiar name, my ears perked up without me realizing it.

“She’s fine. Though she breaks down often.”

“It’s been over 30 years since she was made, it’s amazing that she’s still moving…”

Come to think of it, Sophia had been with my master since he was a child. In that case, it was only natural that the whole family knew her.

The reality of Sophia’s age hit me anew. When you think about it, I was also made quite a long time ago, but perhaps because the period I was powered off was so long, I didn’t feel particularly old.

I finished my meal while secretly glancing at his master’s family as they conversed cheerfully. Soon, the robots came and cleared the table, then served tea and dessert. The dessert was cake, perhaps prepared for his father’s birthday.

Staring at the cake topped with moist mango, I unknowingly gulped down my saliva.

It looks delicious… How long has it been since I’ve had cake? While I was wandering the streets, cake was a food I couldn’t even imagine, so the slice of cake placed before me felt exceptionally dazzling.

“Didi, go on and eat.”

As I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth, his father spoke with a gentle smile.

Was it that obvious? Feeling a little embarrassed, I nodded and cut a small piece of cake with my fork and put it in my mouth.

The mango cake was so soft that it quickly melted and disappeared in my mouth. The cool fresh cream and the fresh, sweet mango blended smoothly in my mouth.

As I was focused on diligently eating my cake, his master’s brother asked.

“So, I hear there are rumors that Spaenic succeeded in restoring a human-bot. Is it true?”

They restored a human-bot? It was the first time I was hearing this, so I stopped the hand that was eating cake and looked at my master.

“…No.”

“You don’t have to hide it from your family. It’s already famous within Spaenic.”

In an instant, everyone’s attention was on my master. They were all waiting for an answer with their eyes fixed on him.

I was one of them. Did he really succeed in restoring one while I was away from home? But if so, he would have been very busy, not at home every day…

“It’s a false rumor. I haven’t restored a human-bot, and I have no plans to in the future.”

My master answered briefly. At his strong denial, the look of expectation in people’s eyes quickly faded.

But the firm denial raised a small question in my mind. My master had always been obsessed with restoring human-bots, so why had he changed his mind now?

“What, wasn’t there a clue to restoration hidden in the human-bot that grandfather left behind?”

“…There was no such thing.”

“I thought that’s why you made such a fuss looking for it when the robot disappeared. You even bet your entire fortune to find that human-bot.”

My hand holding the fork paused.

After being powered on, I had deliberately not asked or tried to find out how my master had searched for me. I felt that if he had really searched for me desperately, my heart might have been swayed.

But to the extent of betting his entire fortune. An unidentifiable emotion stirred in my chest at the unexpected words.

“Then why are you keeping that human-bot with you? You said you wouldn’t bring in any robot other than Sophia.”

“You don’t need to know.”

“And what about that scandal that was all over the news a while ago?”

The questions came one after another. My master’s brother, who had been looking at me with a puzzled expression, continued as if he was genuinely curious.

“Well… It looks just like a person and is cute, just like your type. But a human-bot is still a robot in the end.”

“…”

“You’re not going to start dating a robot, are you?”

Robot.

It was a word that followed me everywhere. Unable to hide my darkening expression, I quietly lowered my gaze.

What his master’s brother said was right. No matter how much it looked like a person, a human-bot was ultimately a robot. I had realized that too, and in the end, I had no choice but to accept the limitations of being a robot.

Seeing me become downcast, my master furrowed his brow and, without warning, grabbed my chin and lifted it.

“Mmph…!”

In an instant, our faces were close, and my lips were devoured just like that.

I heard the sound of people gasping around me. I could feel his master’s family freeze in surprise. It was the same for me.

As our lips touched, my eyes reflexively squeezed shut. I hurriedly clamped my mouth shut, afraid his tongue might enter, but it was merely a press of lips against lips, and it didn’t go any further than that.

Conscious of the gazes pouring down on me, I tried to push my master away, but he didn’t budge.

My master tilted his head and gently rubbed his lips against mine. The soft, plush sensation was strangely vivid. A dizzying feeling, like an electric current, wrapped around my whole body.

After a moment, the lips that felt like they would never part, slowly separated.

“…”

After the short kiss ended, a breathtaking silence flowed.

Clang. A fork dropped by someone became the signal that broke the silence.

“M-Master…!”

“William, you just…!”

Gasps erupted from all sides. I and his master’s family, who had come to our senses belatedly, stammered, unable to form words.

I, too, couldn’t accept the situation and blinked my eyes. Did… my master just kiss me? And in front of his family?

My master, with an unfazed expression, brushed off the gazes pouring down on him. No, rather, as if disappointed by the short kiss, he stared at my lips before getting up from his seat.

“Am I going to date a robot? What if I am?”

“What? That scandal was real?”

“And this one is Didi. Not a robot.”

My master grabbed the wrist of my hand, which was sitting on the chair, and pulled me up.

“Let’s go, Didi.”

“Huh? W-Wait a minute, Master…!”

Without even a chance to say goodbye to his father and family, I was dragged out just like that.

As soon as we were outside the house, my master opened the passenger side door and pushed me inside. Then, after personally fastening my seatbelt, he finally let go of my wrist.

My master immediately got into the driver’s seat, started the engine without a word, and turned the steering wheel.

In an instant, we were out of the yard. Looking back at the house that was receding at a rapid speed, I asked my master worriedly.

“Master! Is it okay to just leave like this?”

“Then what more should I do there?”

“Th-That is…”

“Should I go back in front of the family and make a long, dramatic love confession about how I’ve fallen head over heels for the memento my grandfather left? If you want, I can do it for you anytime.”

“…”

I shut my mouth right then. For some reason, my master seemed angry, and it felt like if I raised my voice any more, he would really put those words into action himself.