Chapter 94: Citizenship

Since that day, Master occasionally went to the office.

He no longer left every day like before, but he still came home on time.

And whenever he was going to be late, he never forgot to contact me—even though I told him it wasn’t necessary every time.

This morning, as I was seeing Master off, he paused at the door and looked back at me.

“Didi, aren’t you going to the office today either?”

“I’ll stay home.”

As usual, Master asked if I wanted to come along, but I shook my head.

There was nothing for me to do at the office except sit on the sofa and wait.

I decided to stay home to keep my mind clear instead of stirring up old memories for no reason.

Only after seeing Master off did my day truly begin.

My routine at home was simple.

I helped Sophia clean the spacious house, and once we finished tidying up, I exchanged brief messages with Enoch or spent time playing with Eve.

Today, as I played with Eve like usual, she suddenly perked up her ears and glanced behind me.

When I turned around, I saw Sophia heading toward the entrance, pausing midway through preparing dinner.

That’s when I realized Master had returned.

I got up and followed Sophia to the door.

Eve, Sophia, and I all settled near the entrance to wait for Master.

After a moment, the front door opened.

Master came in, stopping when he saw me waiting at the door.

He seemed a bit taken aback, probably not yet used to me meeting him whenever he came home these past few days.

I felt the same, and we shared a brief, silent glance.

“Welcome home, William.”

Sophia greeted first.

Only then did I cautiously speak.

“Welcome back, Master?”

“…Yeah.”

He answered quietly.

Just as I was about to step inside again, his voice stopped me once more.

“Didi, come outside for a moment.”

“Huh? Now?”

I glanced down at my outfit, feeling a little embarrassed.

I was wearing thin loungewear and slippers—not exactly suitable for going out.

I suddenly recalled how he had once dragged me outside while I was still in pajamas.

Hesitating, I took a step back.

Master quickly reassured me.

“I have something for you. You don’t have to change.”

“…Okay.”

Still on guard, I followed him outside.

The cool air greeted me first.

The temperature had dropped noticeably since the last time I went out.

Having stayed inside all day, I hadn’t realized how the weather had changed.

Unconsciously brushing my arm over my thin pajamas, something was draped over my shoulder.

It was Master’s suit jacket—still warm and slightly heavy with residual heat.

I was about to hand it back, insisting I didn’t need to wear his jacket, but then I felt the chilly breeze sneak through the collar and loosened it.

The sun was beginning to set.

I looked up at the sky, gently dyed red by the fading sunset.

Having stayed inside so much, I hardly noticed the passage of time recently.

Seeing how short the daylight had become made me realize that autumn would soon be over.

“Didi, here.”

Master handed me an envelope.

I took it and asked, “What’s this?”

“Open it and see.”

Nodding, I opened the envelope and examined the contents.

Inside were a sheet of paper and a small booklet.

I paused when I saw the words written on top.

“Master, this is…”

“One’s your citizenship, and the other’s a passport.”

The citizenship document had a photo of me attached—one I didn’t even remember when it was taken.

The image was somewhat blurry, and my gaze was oddly averted.

Seeing the outfit matched what I wore during my recent visit to the company, I guessed it was a still taken from CCTV footage.

The other item in the envelope was a palm-sized passport.

When I opened it, the same photo appeared along with my name.

Confirming my name printed on both the citizenship and passport, I looked at Master, blinking in confusion.

He began to explain,

“I thought it over. This was the surest way for you to become human.”

“Human?”

“With these, you can prove you’re a person. You could get a driver’s license too, but we’ll handle that once you learn to drive.”

I stammered, struggling to believe what he said.

“B-but I’m not even human. How did you get me citizenship?”

“Who do you think I am? This much isn’t hard.”

“But I’m really not human—I’m a robot made of machines.”

“Lots of people these days live with artificial organs. That’s not a problem.”

He added that he wanted to give these to me earlier, but without a birth record, the process was complicated and took a long time.

Because of that, the birth date on the documents wasn’t my manufacturing date but a different one.

I looked down at the papers in my hand, feeling quite overwhelmed.

Could it be that his recent frequent absences were actually to prepare this?

I wasn’t sure if I deserved this, so I couldn’t feel happy right away.

After all, I wasn’t human to begin with—how could I have citizenship and a passport?

“Didi, you’re human now.”

A stiff sheet of paper and a small booklet.

Could something this simple really make me human?

A wave of emptiness washed over me amid my doubts.

But the thought that just by having these, I could be human made me reluctant to let go of them.

“Also, don’t call me ‘Master’ anymore. You’re not a robot now—you’re human.”

“Huh? Then what should I call you…?”

“By my name.”

He actually told me to call him by his name.

Flustered, I looked up at him.

He quietly waited for me to say it.

I pressed my lips tightly together, hesitating, before barely managing to speak.

“Wi-William…?”

The name slipped awkwardly from my lips, feeling foreign and strange.

Recalling the sound of his name ringing inside my mouth, I glanced at William.

He smiled with satisfaction, raising the corners of his mouth.

Just calling his name made me feel ticklish, and I avoided eye contact, fiddling nervously with the papers in my hands.

Clutching the envelope tightly, I followed William back inside.

I expected him to demand something in exchange for granting me citizenship, but he didn’t.

We had dinner, and until I went back to my room, he simply asked what I did that day.

Returning to my room with Eve, I sat on the bed, staring intently at the citizenship and passport.

My photo was printed alongside my four-letter name, Didi, with my gender marked as male and the address listed as William’s house where I currently lived.

On the side of the document were numbers like a serial code assigned to machines, showing the citizenship number and passport number.

Just these few documents made me human…?

It felt like all the worries and troubles that had plagued me until now were meaningless.

If I had known I could become human with just a single document, I wouldn’t have suffered so much for such reasons.

The emptiness faded slowly, replaced by a soft, warm feeling swelling inside.

I thought back to how William had been acting since I came home.

I kept denying it, thinking it might just be a passing whim, but now I had to accept it.

His feelings toward me were sincere.

According to the documents he gave me, I was human now…

Maybe I could stop pushing him away just because I was a robot and trust him one more time.

I placed the papers on the blanket and stood up from the bed.

“Eve, tonight I’ll sleep in William’s room…”

Seeing Eve already asleep, I closed my mouth.

She must have grown tired of watching me stare at the papers, because by now, she was curled up asleep in the corner of the bed.

Except when charging, Eve had always been awake.

But after gaining emotions, she had even started sleeping.

Sometimes when she tossed and turned, maybe she was dreaming.

Just like a living being…

Yes, although we looked like robots, we had emotions.

There was no difference between us and living creatures.

Maybe I had been distancing myself from those around me because I was trapped in the fixed idea of being just a robot.

I gently stroked Eve’s head and quietly left the room.