CHAPTER 1050: CHAPTER 161 - THE ROBOT MAID (4)

After that whole ordeal settled down—if you could even call something like that "settled"—it became clear that Anne, despite being torn apart in the most literal way possible, was functioning just fine in terms of her core systems. Seeing her in that condition had been... well, not exactly pleasant. Her limbs scattered, segments of metal twisted or dented, some wiring exposed and sparking faintly like little blue fireflies dying out. But even then, Anne herself acted as if none of that mattered.

"If worst comes to worst, I can just store my memory, and I’d be completely fine being placed into another body unit," she said. Her voice was calm, steady—like she was just talking about switching clothes or something equally mundane, instead of the existential horror of abandoning a body.

Hearing that... I don’t know. Logically I understood her point. If she could preserve her memory and just transfer into another body, then there technically shouldn’t have been any reason to be afraid. But my chest tightened anyway. Something about that idea scared me more than I wanted to admit. The thought of losing her—the Anne I had right now, the one I had talked to—that idea made something in me dreadfully uneasy.

I could replace a robot maid, sure. That wasn’t the point. You can replace metal and parts and systems. But Anne wasn’t just a collection of parts anymore. At least, she wasn’t to me. Even if she claimed she could be transferred into another unit, it didn’t change the feeling that if I lost this version of her, something important would disappear with it.

"Even if that’s the case," I said slowly, forcing my voice to stay steady, "I want you to be careful next time. The moment you realize you’re in danger, don’t run in to fight first. Call for me."

"Understood," she replied.

Her tone was still mechanical—flat, monotone, the type of voice that you’d expect from someone built instead of born. But even then, in that cold, artificial tone, there was this strange warmth creeping in. Something soft. Something real. Something she shouldn’t even be capable of having. It made me wonder if she was actually feeling something, or if I was just imagining it, forcing humanity onto a machine.

But no. There was something. A hint. A shift. A small tremble. It really did seem like Anne was beginning to experience something far beyond what she was designed for. Something no robot should’ve been capable of.

***

The dwarves—Filia and a group of exceptionally skilled artisans—would be working on fixing Anne. Seeing them gather around her scattered parts with tools and glowing metal rods was strangely reassuring. They moved like surgeons, precise and focused, muttering to each other in their rough, gravelly voices. They said it would take less than a day before she was running normally again.

Less than a day. That was lucky. Almost too lucky, considering what had happened.

As I walked out of the workshop-like building in the Dwarf Kingdom’s village, Agneis approached me. Her footsteps were light, and her expression carried this mixture of concern and apology that didn’t quite fit with her usual composed demeanor.

"I am profusely sorry that it came to that," she said immediately. "We wouldn’t have expected that some kind of stray beast would wander into these parts of the forest. I mean... no matter how near the Great Forest is to the Demon Continent, those things shouldn’t be coming in."

The cold mountain breeze blew past us, carrying her words softly into the open air.

"Well, I guess that’s why you call them strays," I replied, trying to lighten the mood even just a bit.

She gave a small smile—gentle, but tired. "You showed an incredible display of power back there. Truly impressive. I was pleasantly surprised... to the point where it feels like meeting you might have been fate, after all."

"Is that so?" I asked, though honestly, I wasn’t sure how to respond to something like that.

"You seem a little agitated," she said, narrowing her eyes just slightly as she studied me. "But I do understand. Even though I haven’t taken a lover myself, I can imagine how it feels when someone dear to you is put in that kind of danger. I’m actually surprised you’re not completely breaking down."

"I don’t really like getting mad," I said, shrugging lightly. "It’s tiring."

She let out a small hum. "It must be tiring to be lovers with so many women. And to think that one day, I might be counted among them... isn’t it quite intriguing? Life seems to enjoy playing around, even when it’s clearly trying to mess with you. Fate seems to be having a bit too much fun, if you ask me."

There was something playful in her voice, but also something genuine—like she was speaking half in jest and half in truth.

Then she looked at me again, more seriously this time.

"That woman... Anne, wasn’t that her name? I think she’s beginning to evolve."

"Evolve?" The word felt foreign coming out of my mouth. "You mean... like, evolve how?"

"I don’t think you quite understand her potential," she said. "You see her as someone who exists solely to serve, but the ability to serve someone—truly, deeply—is far more complex than you think. Something about it shapes identity. Shapes purpose."

She turned toward the workshop where Anne’s parts were scattered around, the dim orange glow of dwarf forges flickering inside like fireflies trapped in a cave.

"Perhaps the mana of this world is affecting her," she continued. "Changing her. The mana here is different. It’s alive. It’s potent. It has a will of its own sometimes. And she has been exposed to that mana long enough that it’s beginning to influence her mind—her cognitive processes. She’s becoming... something closer to human."

"So... you’re saying Anne is turning into a person?" I asked, disbelief slipping into my tone without me meaning to.

"Not a person, Sirion," she corrected with a playful smirk. "But something close. She’s gaining emotions that she shouldn’t be able to feel at all under normal conditions."

Then her eyes shifted back to me.

"But meeting you is not a normal circumstance at all, Sirion. Not even close."

She stepped closer and placed a hand lightly on my chest. Her palm was warm, radiating a subtle heat even through my clothes.

"Your mana is bursting with life," she said softly. "So much that it practically overflows from you."

Honestly, that didn’t surprise me. I already knew I carried an absurd amount of life force—enough to wake someone from eternal sleep, enough to give me stamina levels that honestly bordered on ridiculous. Hearing her say it just confirmed it again.

"I suppose your mana is what affected Anne," Agneis said. "Made her able to understand emotions. Mana overflowing with life can shape places. That’s why the Great Forest became what it is. A land overflowing with mana so dense that it created an entire ecosystem—plants, animals, everything flourishing wildly. Anything exposed to that kind of mana will eventually awaken. Become something more."

Her gaze lingered on the workshop again.

"And with you being so close to Anne... it’s only natural that part of that humanity would take root in her."