Robot Protection Zone Chapter 95

I took a moment to catch my breath in front of the Master’s room.

After the mistake I made last time, thinking the Master was drunk, I hadn’t even gone near his room. Trying to enter the Master’s room after such a long time made my body tense up with an unnecessary nervousness.

When I knocked cautiously, an answer came from inside, telling me to come in. I opened the door and peeked my head in.

“Mast… William, I’m coming in.”

I almost called him Master out of habit, but I remembered what he had said earlier and hurriedly changed the title. I repeated the Master’s still-awkward name and stepped into the room.

The Master was sitting at his desk. As soon as I saw him, I quickly scanned his surroundings, but thankfully, there was no alcohol in sight today.

“Didi, what is it?”

The Master asked as I was quietly sighing in relief. I hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth.

“Can I sleep in your room tonight, William?”

“Here?”

“Yes.”

The Master looked at me with a slightly surprised expression, as if he hadn’t expected me to come asking for such permission. However, he soon nodded and gave his consent.

I had already finished preparing for bed, so as soon as the Master’s permission was granted, I climbed onto the bed right away. As I wriggled under the covers, I saw the Master, who didn’t seem to be planning on sleeping yet, organize what he was doing and get up from his seat.

Soon, the lights went out and darkness fell in the room. I felt the bed shake slightly as the Master got under the covers.

I turned my head towards the Master lying next to me and asked what I had been curious about.

“Why did you make a certificate of citizenship and a passport for me…?”

“You said being a robot was the problem. So, you just have to become a person too.”

Hearing the Master’s answer, I closed my mouth and nodded. Perhaps because I had pushed the Master away even after he had seen through my feelings, it seemed he had come up with a solution of his own.

A single document and one passport. To some, it might not seem like a big deal, but to me, it was. It was no exaggeration to say that just those two things solved all the problems that had been blocking my way until now.

But I couldn’t be completely happy. The Master, noticing this, asked me.

“You don’t like it?”

“It’s just… I’m still not sure if I can really think of myself as a person just because I have an identity.”

“Being human is nothing so great. No matter what you’re made of, if you can think for yourself and feel emotions, you’re no different from a person.”

“…”

“In the first place, people who didn’t know you were a Human-bot all thought you were a person, didn’t they? The only thing you lacked were the documents to prove you were a person.”

He might be right. The people I met for the first time never suspected me of being a robot. Rather, perhaps I was the one who had been living with myself confined within the fence of being a robot all along.

To think that I had become a person just by getting a certificate of citizenship and a passport…. It felt a little empty, but on the other hand, a feeling of happiness gently seeped out. It was as if I had finally been given the chance to live as a person, just as I had longed for.

“Still not convinced?”

“No…”

As I quietly shook my head, the Master smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting.

“What do you want to do from now on?”

“What I want to do?”

“Yeah, you’re a person now too. Since you’ve become a person, you should try doing what you’ve wanted to do.”

I thought for a moment and then listed the things that came to mind one by one.

“Then… like you said before, I want to go to the park with Eve and Sophia.”

“Alright, what else?”

“I want to learn to drive too…”

“Good.”

“I want to work like you, Master.”

The Master, who seemed like he would nod at whatever I said, paused when he heard the last thing.

“…Work?”

“Yes. I want to have a job too.”

“If you need money, I can give you as much as you…”

“That’s not it, everyone has a job.”

Up until now, if I had a job, it was just following the Master around or helping Sophia organize the house. But if I had become a person, I wanted to have a real job too, like the Master or the other people I saw at the company.

The Master was silent for a moment before opening his mouth again to ask.

“Do you have a job in mind?”

“No, I don’t have anything like that.”

“Then I’ll find a job for you, so just wait a few days.”

“Yes.”

I obediently nodded. I had no idea what kind of work I could do or how to even find a job anyway. I was sure the Master would find a job that was just right for me.

Thinking that, I looked at the Master, and our eyes met.

His gaze looking down at me was endlessly warm. His blue eyes shimmered quietly, like a deep and calm sea.

Ah, it feels like we’re about to kiss.

Without realizing it, I slightly lowered my eyes, waiting for his lips to approach. But the Master didn’t kiss me and instead asked.

“Didi, do you still have a reason to push me away?”

“…I don’t think so.”

The Master gave a faint smile, seeing me mumble an ambiguous answer. Even though I answered that way, he seemed to have noticed that I wouldn’t push him away anymore.

The Master’s hand touched my face. The hand that had been stroking my ear trailed down my jawline, and then he gently lifted my head.

I closed my eyes, feeling our lips gently meet. A heated breath escaped between our lightly brushing lips.

Feeling a warm tongue gently sweep over my lips, I slightly parted my mouth. The tongue that entered my mouth then carefully and slowly entwined with mine. It wasn’t a deep kiss that would make me breathless, but a tender one, and my heart pounded wildly, unable to calm down.

After a long while, our lips parted, and I felt a void around my mouth as I slowly opened my eyes. The kiss, which felt especially short today, was only regrettable, and I couldn’t erase the sensation left on my lips for a long time.

The Master pulled me into an embrace and took a deep breath. I felt a deep fatigue in his heavy exhale, and I asked, trapped in the Master’s firm chest.

“It seems you haven’t been sleeping well lately…. Are you okay?”

“I’m okay today because you’re here.”

The Master, who said that, slowly relaxed his body, as if he would fall asleep soon.

The Master’s embrace was warm, and the arms holding me were strong. Without missing the sound of his breathing from above my head, I also hugged the Master tightly. How long has it been since I’ve been surrounded by the Master’s scent with such peace of mind….

While the Master tried to sleep with me in his arms, I too enjoyed a peaceful night in his embrace for the first time in a long while. It seemed that today, I too could let go of all my worries and close my eyes with a peaceful heart.

The next morning, I was woken up by the sound of scratching at the door.

In the Master’s arms, I slowly blinked my sleepy eyes. When I lifted my head, I saw the Master’s face, still asleep.

The Master’s arm wrapped around my body and the blanket were so warm and cozy that I closed my eyes again. I wanted to fall back asleep just like that, but the sound that had seemed like scratching at the door now changed to the rattling of the doorknob, making it impossible to ignore any longer.

What in the world is that sound….

Just as I was about to drift off to sleep again with my eyes closed, the image of Eve suddenly flashed through my mind.

“Eve…?”

I shot up. As my body left his embrace, the Master frowned and tossed and turned. In a hurry, I tucked the pillow I had been using into his arms, and only then did the Master’s movements stop.

Phew….

After confirming that the Master had fallen back asleep, I sighed in relief and got off the bed.

As I carefully turned the doorknob, I saw Eve through the crack of the open door. It seemed she had come looking for me as soon as she woke up and didn’t see me.

“Eve, did you sleep well?”

I stroked the head of Eve, who greeted me by wagging her tail enthusiastically first thing in the morning.

As if stroking her while crouching down wasn’t enough, Eve urged me to return to the room quickly. I glanced back at the still-sleeping Master and then quietly left the room.

When I returned to my room with Eve, the documents and passport neatly placed on the bed caught my eye. I sat on the edge of the bed first thing in the morning, looking at their contents, unable to move.

Eve, who had her attention stolen in an instant, pushed her head into my lap. I hugged Eve but continued to keep my eyes fixed on my name written inside.

Happy, and also complicated…. It was a very strange feeling.

Suddenly, I feel glad that it was the Master, that it was William, who found me when my power was off. If I hadn’t met William, I would have lived my whole life as a robot.

Now I think I understand why the former Master entrusted me to William. Could it be that he knew that William would surely cherish me sincerely?