"Congrats!"
"Congratulation."
By lunch break, everyone in the mansion had already heard about it from Mr. Butler and congratulated me. Something that surprised me, even though I was only going to a community college.
'I guess since everyday life here is devoid of novelty and with few people, everyone celebrates whatever.'
"Thank you everyone."
After that the celebration party was simple and short, there was just electro swing music playing and everyone was talking, imagining my brief life later on campus. Just after the lunch break, they had just finished the celebration party, some of them patted me on the 'head' before returning to their respective tasks.
Since I'm closest to the trio; Unit-5, Unit-6, and Unit-7. Naturally, I joined them for the rest of the day.
That day I didn't see Master anywhere, nor for the next three days.
---
[Observation Log started]
Date: 13 January 960 SE
Main subject: Self-preparation
Despite the positive reactions others have given me, for me these kinds of things are still very sudden. I still haven't even processed what happened despite my advanced simulations.
How do I describe it? It's as if I'm overloaded with all this.
I have to admit, Master has a keen eye for detail. How can he tell what I'm lacking just by reading the emoticons on my screen?
Even to the point of arranging an education for me.
And all of them—Consider this arrangement as something extraordinary. I kind of understand that they think of me as the 'little sibling' based on my age being the youngest here, I still feel like this isn't something to celebrate as I'll only be gone for a year—perhaps six months according to Mr. Butler.
Moreover, they and I have only known each other for half a month.
Even so, for the past few days, after work hours they are still happy to give me advice about life on campus, or how to make friends, even though they themselves have never had formal education, or have friends outside their work circle.
Of course, I don't think badly of them, I'm grateful for their efforts, so I remember their advice well.
Just this morning, Mr. Butler kindly gave me a booklet on how to start a pleasant conversation and read it to me, I recorded his oral reading voice into the system and repeated it 46 times.
I did the same thing to the others.
...
Personal comment: Regarding Master, Mr. Butler said that since the 11th, he has locked himself in the makeshift lab. A eureka moment, perhaps? I don't want to be nosy anymore, but I wonder what he is working on now.
[Observation Log ends, saved in secondary data archive]
---
14 January 960 SE
Dings-dongs-dings-dongs!
Noosphere looked at another grandfather's clock placed in the end of the hallway, it chimed quite loudly, almost startled them.
'It's still nine o'clock... I was supposed to leave at ten o'clock with Mr. Butler.'
I still have a little time.
After talking with Mr. Butler and others about community college, I learned two things.
First, the community college I would be attending was called the St. Makarius Automata Education Center, or simply Makarius Center. Not only does it revolve around educating robots in various types, it also provides robot and android repair services, even robot resource management for both alumnus and non-alumnus.
About how the system work is that they assess the applicant's skills and interests, then recommend and offer jobs that suit them.
Second, it was unexpected news that Master came from a high-ranking noble house, the Grand Duchy of Konstantinov of the Kievlan Empire above all. I had assumed that Master would come from a wealthy family or at least some old nobility, but not something as grand as this, at least this explains a little of Master's ambiguous situation.
'Absence of an living adult or guardian, seemingly neglected condition...'
Master may be an orphan, but he comes from a branch family, so he doesn't have much importance to the people of the main estate that Mr. Butler mentioned. Maybe for those people, material assistance is enough to take care of things.
That's what I imagined.
This is a suitable scenario, with a nearly 87% accuracy rate. After all, this is the most common scenario people imagine, an orphaned young master abandoned by the main family of a noble house.
People love such wild stories regardless of their truthfulness according to a pyschological journal stored in the database. Something I wouldn't have read if it weren't for the catchy title, [Why Do People Like to Gossip?].
By now my lack of interest in general academics especially STEM subjects is well known here, perhaps except for Master.
Just yesterday, when I express a complaining opinion about a math topic, Unit-2 teased me because I was a robot but didn't like STEM at all, and honestly I also wondered why.
'Have I really completing self-personalization?'
I can't say for certain. But if I count my preferences for ballet, snow, and anything else—
No, that's not important right now.
Anyhow, even if that scenario is true, I am not in a position to interfere in Master's affairs. I was just curious and pondering to ask anyone. I thought since I would probably be interacting more with the outside world or dealing with the main estate, this would be a good time to ask.
First of all, I visited Master also with the intention of saying goodbye because it would be rude to leave without telling the master of this mansion.
Although... when I visited the makeshift lab this morning, it was empty, at least I thought, because there was no answer even though I called for him and the door was tightly closed.
Even in the library, his bedroom, or any of the places he usually frequented—there was not a single sign of him.
'Maybe Mr. Butler knows where he is because he takes care of him.'
So I went to ask Mr. Butler, but unfortunately this morning he was in a meeting or morning roll call? Whatever he calls it, with the others.
Since I am not an official staff working for the Grand Duchy, it is natural that I cannot participate. Not a problem, I can wait.
...
...
5 minutes later.
The wooden door of the conference room opened and one by one the mansion's servant robots came out, with Mr. Butler as the last. As Noosphere hovered on the opposite side of the door, they all instantly looked at them.
"Did you waiting for us?" Mr. Butler asked, he peeked out from behind everyone, immediately the others spread out to the right and left to make way for Mr. Butler.
"Duh, of course. I bet he's anxious right now, especially since this is his first time out of the mansion." Unit-6 chimed in, comments like that were commonplace for Noosphere at this point, as they was practically the youngest 'sibling' here.
"Hush, all of you get to work now, you know how the young master is when it comes to work discipline."
"Killjoy." One voiced his displeasure, but Mr. Butler dismissed it with another 'hush'. With a snort from one of them, they walked together down the hallway like an army squad and disappeared around the corner. Leaving Noosphere and Mr. Butler alone in front of the conference room.
"You don't need to chase them away, I waited because I just wanted to ask a simple question."
"Sometimes simple things can turn into big things if you're not careful." Mr. Butler's tone was unusually firm, was it because he was going to meet a person in the main estate named Oleg? I heard he's Mr. Butler's superior. "Oh, by the way, what did you want to ask?" His tone changed to his usual friendly one, I concluded it was probably safe to ask about Master now.
"About Master..." I started, trying to say the simple question 'what is Master's connection to the Grand Duchy of Konstantinov?' but suddenly I was stopped, stammering as if something was malfunctioning with my speakers. "Uh... I..."
All while Mr. Butler kept looking at them intently and it somehow made Noosphere feel 'goosebumps'.
In appearance, Mr. Butler as well as the other servant robots here are humanoid robots, but that doesn't mean they fully have human appearance features. Their faces are nothing more than metal plates forming the shape of a head, in front of which are two circles of lenses acting as both cameras and 'eyes'.
And the same 'eyes' that stared at them right now emitted a faint red glow from within.
Something they had never witnessed before.
'Ah.'
For the first time, I was reminded that despite their friendly treatment I was still an outsider to him—and to the others as well.
Half a month. Just half a month is not enough to make someone close like family.
The only reason they acknowledge my existence is because I have Master behind me. I just stepped into something I shouldn't have, even though I warned myself beforehand.
"..."
"Pardon me, what I mean where is Master? I've been looking for him since morning."
A minute of deafening silence, then Mr. Butler said a place and Noosphere hurried off leaving him behind.