Beep-beep-beep!
"…38.9 degrees," I groaned, staring at the thermometer.
Yup, I'm officially down with a cold. Lately, I've been swamped with work and neglected my health, and now I'm paying the price. A few years ago, I'd have popped some fever meds and dragged myself to work, but with the current state of the world, that's not an option.
A-chan told me she'd send a test kit for that virus and to let her know the results ASAP. Until then, I've got nothing to do. I thought about tackling some of my backlog Gunpla, but my head's too fuzzy to focus. Guess I'll just sleep it off…
Ding-dong!
"…Someone at the door?" I mumbled.
Maybe a staff member dropping off the test kit? They'd just leave it in the mailbox and go, right? Or maybe it's a newspaper salesman. Sorry, buddy, I'm too sick to answer!
Click-clack!
"…Huh?"
Wait, did someone just unlock the door? That's impossible! The Holomems' spare keys don't work anymore, and I've got the only set for this place. Footsteps were getting closer. Who the hell—?!
Click!
"Hellooo, Master! Your high-performance nurse, Roboco, is here to take care of you~♪"
"You?!" I coughed, nearly choking. "Cough-cough!"
The bedroom door swung open, revealing Roboco, the self-proclaimed high-performance robot who's honestly a bit of a klutz. How did she even get in?!
"How the heck did you unlock the door?!" I rasped.
"Hehe~ A-chan said she was sending a test kit, so I volunteered to deliver it. She gave me the spare key!" Roboco beamed.
Of course. I'd forgotten I left a spare with A-chan for emergencies. But why send an idol to deliver a test kit?!
"What were you thinking?!" I snapped. "If I've got that virus, you could—"
"No worries, Master!" she interrupted. "I'm a robot—human viruses don't affect me. And if you're infected, I'll just disinfect myself afterward."
…Right. She eats, bathes, and uses the bathroom like a human, but she's a robot. I keep forgetting because she's such a goofball.
"Anyway, Master, take the test and rest. I've got your nursing covered~♪" she chirped.
"I'm not exactly filled with confidence here," I muttered. "Can you even handle nursing?"
"Rude, Master! I'm high-performance—nursing's a piece of cake!" she huffed.
Still calling herself that, huh? My fever was making it hard to argue. Fine, I'll trust her… for now. "Alright, I'll take the test and sleep. You're in charge."
"Leave it to me, Master!" Roboco declared, puffing out her chest confidently.
Is this really okay…?
Once I was asleep, Roboco checked to make sure I was out. "Alright, Master's down. Time to get to work!"
She scurried to the front door, dragging in a pile of bags and boxes into the living room, ready to set her plan in motion.
Meanwhile, at Hololive HQ
"WAAAHH! I wanna nurse Rei-kun too!" Fubuki wailed. "Why does Roboco get to go and not me?!"
"No choice, Fubuki," Mio said. "If Rei-san's got that virus, it's too risky for us. Roboco-senpai's the only one who can go—she's immune."
"Then I'll turn myself into a full-body robot!" Fubuki sobbed.
"Calm down, Fubuki-chan, don't be drastic!" Sora pleaded, holding her back.
"I'm a demon, so I'm immune too, right? I'll go—" Yuzuki started.
"Didn't the news say four demonfolk got infected last week?" AZKi cut in.
"…Bummer," Yuzuki deflated.
The Holomems were in an uproar over my illness, their usual chaos dialed up to eleven.
Hours Later, Sasaki Residence
"…Ugh, yawn… Feeling a bit better?" I mumbled, stirring awake.
"Morning, Master! How's your body holding up?" Roboco asked, entering with a tray. She was rocking an apron, looking surprisingly domestic.
"Think I'm doing okay," I said. "Is that… porridge?"
"Yup! Made it with stuff from your fridge. You gotta eat to get better!" she said, setting down a bowl of egg porridge and a veggie juice.
It looked simple, with a faint chicken broth aroma. I took a tentative bite. "…This is good."
"Really?! Yay~♪" Roboco cheered.
"You sure you made this?" I asked, skeptical.
"Yup! Eggs, green onions, chicken broth, plus a bit of yuzu peel and ginger—my special nutrient-packed egg porridge!" she boasted.
I was shocked. Roboco's such a klutz in streams and daily life, I figured she'd be hopeless at this stuff. But she's actually pretty good at it.
After eating, Roboco helped wipe down my feverish sweat. I felt like a grandpa in a nursing home, but she was gentle and thorough.
"All good, Master? Any itchy spots?" she asked.
"Nah, I'm fine," I said.
"Cool, all done!" she said, helping me into fresh pajamas. This girl's actually pretty reliable.
"Oh, by the way, I've got a present for you!" she added.
"A present? From you? That's new," I said, curious.
"Hehe~ Come to the living room and see!" she urged, scampering off.
The living room? Why not just show me here? I sighed and followed her.
"What the…?!" I gaped.
"Ta-da! Your present: the Gunpla Workshop Room!~♪" Roboco announced.
My living room was unrecognizable. The walls were decked out like the White Base—sleek, white, and mechanical. A corner housed a brand-new painting booth, a small showcase of airbrushes, and a wall lined with tools: sandpaper, glue, nippers, screwdrivers, pin vises—like a hobby shop display. Above the booth were shelves packed with paints I'd never used. How did she pull this off?
"Hehe~ I remodeled while you were asleep!" Roboco grinned.
"You've really outdone yourself," I said, half-impressed, half-exasperated. She'd turned my living room into an event-level workshop in hours, yet kept the table, sofa, and TV for normal living. How?!
"…Fine, what's done is done," I sighed. "But you didn't sneak in any cameras or bugs, right?"
"No way, Master! I'd never do that again!" she protested.
"You've got a track record, so forgive me for doubting," I said dryly.
"Haha… sorry about that," she mumbled, recalling her last ban-worthy stunt. She seemed sincere, so no cameras this time. But then my eyes caught something odd.
"Hey, Roboco, what's that light blue capsule in the corner?" It looked like a pod with storage space, maybe openable.
"Oh, that? My capsule bed!~♪" she said cheerfully.
"Hold up, are you trying to move in?!" I exclaimed. Why's she setting up her bed in my house?!
"Well, um… my old place is getting demolished," she admitted.
"Demolished?! Where were you even living?!"
"…Where we first met," she said softly.
Where we met…? My jaw dropped. "You've been living in that ruin?!"
"Yup. That place… it's where I became me. Where I met you, Master. It's my treasure, full of memories," she said, her voice tinged with emotion.
Memories? That ruin was where I found her—abandoned. She considered that a treasure and lived there all this time?
"When they decided to tear it down, I had nowhere to go. I've been crashing at the office, but I can't stay forever. I thought… maybe you'd let me stay here. But it's okay if not…" Her eyes glistened, almost teary.
Damn it, is she really a robot? "Fine," I sighed. "You can stay for a month. But find a new place by then."
"Thank you, Master!" Roboco squealed, tackling me in a hug.
"Oi, I'm still sick, you know!" I protested, but she just grinned.
That Night
I took my meds and was out like a light. The test results come tomorrow, but I'm probably negative. Phew.
Roboco glanced at me, smiling softly. "Time for bed. Goodnight, Master…"
That night, she dreamed of the day she met me—Sasaki Reiji—her Master.
Five Years Ago, The Ruins
…Beep… Whirr… Beep-beep…
'Reboot'
"…W-Where… am I…?" Roboco mumbled, waking atop a pile of rubble. She had no idea why she was there or what she'd been doing before. Her memory was blank.
Her body wouldn't move. Glancing down, she saw the damage: her right arm and leg were scratched, artificial skin peeling to reveal her frame. Her left leg was gone below the thigh, her left arm missing from the shoulder, with frayed cables dangling.
I'm a robot… discarded and rebooted somehow. But her memory circuits were fried, and her broken body was useless. She'd run out of power soon. Resigned, she waited for the end.
That's when I appeared.
"…What's this? A robot?" I said, spotting her in the rubble.
"…?" she croaked.
I jumped when she spoke. "Whoa, it talks?! …But it's barely holding together. Hey, someone help me out!"
I called for backup and carried her somewhere safe. She thought I'd scrap her, but…
"All fixed up! New arms and legs, no issues. You're good to go!" I said after days at a repair shop.
"Really?! Awesome!" my friend cheered.
"…" Roboco stared silently.
I'd taken her to a mechanic friend who rebuilt her completely—new limbs, new artificial skin. She was reborn. Afterward, I took her to a park to rest on a bench.
"…Why'd you save me?" she asked suddenly.
"Huh? What's that about?" I said.
"Why bother? If you'd left me, I'd have shut down without a thought. You didn't have to spend all that money…" she muttered.
She couldn't understand why I'd saved her. Left alone, she'd have faded quietly. I could've avoided the hassle and expense.
"Why? I dunno… I just couldn't leave you there. It'd feel wrong," I said.
That's it? she thought. Is this guy an idiot?
"That's stupid," she said. "Saving me for a reason like that…"
"Maybe," I admitted. "But… I'm calling you Roboco, by the way. Leaving you there would've haunted me."
"Haunted? Why?" she asked.
"Because… you were crying back there, weren't you?"
"Crying?!" she gasped. "No way! I'm a robot—robots don't cry!"
"Really? Looked like it to me… and you're crying now, too," I said gently.
"What…?" She touched her face, shocked to find tears. How? I'm a robot! Why am I crying?!
Deep down, she knew. The fear of breaking down alone in that dark, rubble-strewn ruin, waking only to see desolation—she'd wanted to see the world, to walk freely. The sadness of that unfulfilled wish had made her cry. And now, the joy of me granting that wish brought more tears.
Hug.
"W-Why…?" she stammered as I pulled her close.
"I get it now," I said, patting her head. "You were scared, right? Being stuck in that ruin, unable to move, facing the end. Anyone would be. But you're free now, Roboco. Live the way you want."
"…WAAAAHH!" she sobbed, clinging to me, crying openly in the park. Looking back, she's a bit embarrassed. ///
After that, I introduced her to Hololive, giving her a home and friends. I'd been scouting locations for Sora's new MV when I stumbled across her in that ruin—a crazy coincidence.
I told her we'd find a proper name, but she didn't need one. Roboco, the name I gave her, was perfect—her treasure, tied to our meeting.
This memory of meeting her Master, Sasaki Reiji, is her most precious possession. She'll never forget it~♪
Days Later
The test came back negative, and after four days of recovery, I'm back at work. Man, that was rough.
"Rei-kun's back! I'm so relieved~♪" Fubuki cheered.
"Yeah, Fubuki-chan trying to go full robot to see you was wild," Sora teased.
"Sora-chan, that was supposed to be a secret!" Fubuki whined, blushing.
Fubuki and Sora visited the day before my return, and apparently, Fubuki caused a ruckus while I was out. What would she do without me?
"Roboco-san, that's not fair!" Fubuki pouted. "I wanna live with Rei-kun too!"
"Yeah, it's kinda sneaky," Sora agreed.
"Sorry~ It's just till I find a new place," Roboco said.
"Hmph! Fine, I'm moving in too!" Fubuki declared. "Let me stay, Rei-kun!"
"No way! Find a place then move!" I shot back.
"Muuu!" she huffed.
Why would you move without a plan?! But she'd just get louder if I didn't compromise. Guess it's another sleepover.
Sure enough, letting Fubuki and Sora stay sparked a month-long rotation of Holomems crashing at my place. Here we go again.