Enoch’s owner, Amy, gladly invited me to her house when I told her I needed to charge.
As we drove, my eyes kept meeting those of a smiling little girl in the rearview mirror.
“Fortunately, it seems she doesn’t dislike me…”
I awkwardly smiled back, a small grin on my face.
We drove down a road lined with dense trees and soon arrived at a massive mansion nestled in the forest.
Its opulent yet antique exterior made it look like a home where old nobility once lived.
I got out of the car and looked around at the mansion’s exterior.
“Surely a large family lives in a place like this…”
I resolved to quietly charge and leave without being a bother, and prepared to greet them.
His clothes and the dust-covered tips of his fingers caught his eye.
My expression darkened as I looked at my shabby appearance.
“In this state… I’ll surely be kicked out.”
Enoch was only kind to me because I was a fellow human-bot, and Amy was just young and lacked wariness.
But in the eyes of ordinary people, I certainly wouldn’t be someone they’d want to let into their home.
Carrying my timid heart, I entered the house, but an unusually quiet stillness permeated the interior.
I felt something was off and looked around. However, I didn’t sense anyone anywhere.
Thinking it was strange, I cautiously asked, “Where are the others?”
“The grand masters passed away in an accident a few years ago, so now only the master and I live here.”
“Just the two of you in this vast place?”
“Yes. It’s large for two, but I didn’t want the young master to leave the place where he still has memories with the masters.”
“Ah…”
I could understand that feeling.
If I had woken up alone in my old master’s house, I probably would never have left that place my entire life.
Surrounded by objects filled with memories of my master, I would have lived steeped in longing every single day.
I might have never left that spot until my lifespan ended.
But William reached out to me.
William, who was so similar to my old master, led me, allowing me to step into a new world.
Even though I was now returning to my old master’s house to power down.
“Could you wait here for a moment? I’ll be back with the charger.”
“Yes.”
Enoch, who had guided me into the house, quietly left, holding Amy’s hand.
After they left, I sat on the sofa and looked around the interior.
Was this the drawing-room?
It had a quiet and cozy atmosphere.
The sofa I sat on was so soft and comfortable, it felt like I was floating on a cloud.
How long had it been since I felt such comfort…?
I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly.
My tired body was heavy like waterlogged cotton, and the battery was precariously low.
I had to desperately hold onto my fading consciousness, feeling as if I’d power down immediately if I relaxed even a little.
“Didi, you’ve waited a lo—”
I felt Enoch, who had returned to the drawing-room, stop, as if he had noticed me with my eyes closed.
Hearing his voice trail off, I quickly opened my eyes.
Enoch, with a surprised expression, seemed relieved upon confirming my movement.
He must have thought I had powered down.
“I’m sorry. The sofa was so comfortable, I didn’t even realize…”
“You must be very tired. I’ll show you to the guest room; it would be best for you to rest there.”
“Yes…”
Unable to hide my embarrassed expression, I followed Enoch.
Enoch guided me to the guest bedroom.
I was about to start charging as soon as I received the charger from Enoch, feeling like I would power down at any moment, but Enoch handed me a clean set of clothes.
“I brought you some clothes to change into, as I thought you might need them.”
“Thank you.”
Taking the clothes from his hand, I fell into a brief contemplation.
My battery was precariously low, as if I’d power down at any moment… but with clean clothes in front of me, I wanted to take off the dirty ones covered in dust.
“Will it be okay if I wash up quickly?”
As soon as Enoch left, I entered the bathroom right next to me and turned on the water.
Warm streams flowed over my head, slowly washing away all the dirt on my body.
It was the first bath I’d had since leaving home.
I didn’t avoid the water flowing over my face, enjoying its warmth.
“Come to think of it, how long has it been since I left home…?”
I had stopped counting the days at some point.
I only vaguely remembered that a month had passed.
By now, my master would have realized I had left.
Even if he hadn’t returned home yet, he seemed to be in occasional contact with Sophia, so she would have reported it to him.
What would my master’s reaction have been when he found out I had disappeared?
I… don’t know. He said he had a new lover, so perhaps he was relieved that my troublesome presence was gone.
I had served my purpose.
Although I couldn’t help my master achieve his original goal of restoring human-bots, I had certainly contributed enough to promoting the new humanoid product.
My master must be satisfied with that.
‘I wonder if Sophia and Eve are doing well…’
I had left home without even saying goodbye to Eve.
I only hoped that when Eve returned home and realized I was gone, he wouldn’t be too upset.
I sadly lowered my head.
The years I spent with my master felt like a lie.
Looking back now, it felt like I had just dreamed for a while.
Meeting a new master, falling in love again…
Even though it was all my delusion, I was still happy.
But now, I was too exhausted, and I just wanted to rest in eternal darkness.
All the strength drained from my body.
Suddenly, my vision flickered.
I felt warm water stream down my cheek and closed my eyes for a moment.
“…Ah!”
I gasped, pulling myself together.
This time, I almost powered down.
Realizing that powering down was imminent, I quickly wiped away the water and stepped out of the bathroom.
Finally, a pleasant scent wafted from my body.
After changing into the clean new clothes, I sat on the plush bed.
Then, I connected the charger to the back of my neck and began charging.
“Ah…”
It had been a long time since I’d charged.
It felt like an empty vessel filling up.
I let out a satisfied sound and flopped onto the bed.
My tired body was so heavy that I couldn’t move a single finger.
As I surrendered to the soft bed, my eyelids grew heavy.
‘Come to think of it, it’s been a really long time since I’ve slept somewhere with a ceiling…’
A strange sense of relief washed over me as I realized I was indoors.
I quietly took a breath and closed my eyes. And then…
I drifted off to sleep.
“Didi.”
How much time had passed?
My body was gently shaken, and someone woke me up.
I faintly stirred from sleep, slowly lifting my eyelids.
I saw a shadow gently shaking me awake.
“Master…?”
I blinked, mumbling softly.
But then my vision sharpened, and light brown hair and clear emerald eyes came into view.
Only then did I realize the man in front of me was Enoch, and I was unconsciously a little disappointed.
“You must be tired, but let’s eat dinner and then continue charging.”
“Dinner?”
Dinner?
Surprised by Enoch’s words, I looked out the window.
The sky had already darkened.
It had definitely been midday, but I had slept straight until night.
Come to think of it, my body felt light as air.
I raised my hand and felt the back of my neck.
The charger was still neatly attached, as if I hadn’t even tossed and turned in my sleep.
Although it wasn’t fully charged yet, it seemed there would be no risk of powering down for a while.
I followed Enoch to the dining room.
Now that my battery was sufficient, I had the leisure to look around.
This place was as unusually large as it had appeared from the outside.
It took quite a while just to walk from the guest room to the dining room.
Upon arriving at the dining room, the first thing that caught my eye was the long table in the center.
At its end sat Enoch’s young master, Amy.
“Didi!”
Amy called out to me with a welcoming face.
Her bright, sparkling eyes were fixed on me.
They were the same pure and curious eyes that had watched me in the car on the way to the house.
I stepped into the dining room and sat in the seat Enoch guided me to.
The table was very long, but the three of us huddled together at one end.