*

A tone that suggests it’s no big deal.

To Sarah, Ga-on was a highly suspicious character. However, there was no doubt that he was the key to overcoming the current situation. Whatever happened in the mansion, she had no right to report it.

There was no opportunity to be given.

However, she could leave room for it.

“I’m leaving now. It’s almost time for work. It might be better to enter through the back gate today. It’s closer.”

For a moment, Ga-on’s eyes narrowed. It sounded like the security at the back gate was weaker than the front.

“So, you trust what I’m saying?”

“I don’t have the authority to decide that.”

“Then there’s no choice.”

*

―The only option is to follow as desired.

Ga-on adjusted the distance between himself and Sarah by hopping between the walls like stepping stones.

She hadn’t directly mentioned it, but it was as if she had said it.

She was going to a secluded place, so he should enter as he pleased.

It wasn’t an invitation, nor was it assistance. It was merely leaving room. The maximum goodwill she could show without breaking the shackles given to an android.

Now, achieving the goal depended entirely on his own abilities.

Before long, he saw Sarah entering through the back gate.

In a fleeting moment, he flicked a coin into the gap.

Click.

Ga-on, who had approached stealthily, retrieved the coin after confirming Sarah’s presence had disappeared.

Yes, the coin that had blocked the gate just before it locked.

Even if it was covered with advanced technology, it was ultimately something humans had to use.

Nothing was perfect.

Just like Sarah.

Avoiding surveillance devices, Ga-on ran through the garden and between the columns of the corridor. His ability to act so openly was thanks to the uniquely composed personnel.

‘Only androids.’

And very few of them.

The guards he had seen before seemed to only stay outside. Therefore, entering the mansion wasn’t difficult.

Considering how vast the place was, he wondered if he should start searching from the annex, but Ga-on moved directly to the central area. Given Doby’s situation and position, the guest room wasn’t even a consideration.

As expected, that choice soon led to results. There was only one room with a door in the long corridor.

The meaning of monopolizing a prime location was singular.

“Is it here?”

As he entered, a refined scent brushed past his nose.

Antique furniture, soft rugs, and pots filled with colorful flowers. Nothing was lacking.

Suddenly, a breeze through the wide-open window made the silk curtains flutter. Soon, a petal landed on the medical pod.

It was a luxury product from ‘Inatomi Corporation,’ renowned for modern medicine, called ‘Anima.’

The interior was always in a sterile state.

It could self-produce drugs necessary for survival even when isolated from the outside world, and the built-in manipulator could replicate all existing surgical procedures.

As long as electricity was supplied, it was a device that could be used semi-permanently.

It went without saying that each one was worth hundreds of billions.

Drawn to it, Ga-on approached and saw a young man.

Curly brown hair resembling Colin.

An innocent face without a single wrinkle, like a blank canvas.

Though he saw him for the first time, there was no doubt about who he was.

‘Doby.’

He seemed to be sleeping peacefully, but the display confirmed he was in a comatose state.

The young man had been living in Anima for a period that couldn’t be explained by a day or two.

That’s why the guards and Sarah reacted the way they did.

“Ha.”

A friend of someone who couldn’t leave the room had come in person. It must have been absurd, even if they couldn’t express it.

It was natural to doubt and not believe.

He thought Doby spent all day playing Lost Saga without a care in the world.

But that wasn’t the case.

The order was reversed.

To Doby, Lost Saga was the only channel to communicate with the world.

“Stupid guy.”

“Who’s the stupid one?”

Startled by the sudden voice, Ga-on stepped back. It wasn’t ordinary that he hadn’t sensed the presence until it was right behind him.

In front of him was a young man who looked exactly like the lying Doby.

He thought they might be twins, but they weren’t.

The appearances of the two were exactly the same.

As expected, when he gently grabbed his shoulder, he felt a light repulsion instead of warmth.

It felt like he was stirring the surface of water.

It seemed like he could penetrate to the other side if he wanted.

“Actual mass hologram?”

Looking around, he saw traces of a projector installed at the corner where the walls met.

He had heard it was a technology being tested by the military, but it seemed that a large corporation like Maximum Noise could experience it in advance.

“And you are… Ga-on, right?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, I didn’t expect you to come all the way here. Should I be touched? I never thought I’d have a friend who would come looking for me like this…”

Hearing the carefree voice, the tension seemed to dissipate.

Doby was Doby even offline. Ga-on, sitting on Anima, shrugged his shoulders.

“I had a hard time because no one let me in.”

“I heard you’re a troubleshooter. You must have skills worthy of that title?”

“Yes. And I couldn’t give up out of curiosity when the guy who wanted to request something disappeared. By the way, why didn’t you receive any contact?”

“All communication inside the mansion was cut off, and as you can see, I couldn’t even request help because of my condition.”

Even if it was a temporary issue, for Doby, who couldn’t leave on his own, it was as if he were isolated.

The only solution was to command the androids, but since he couldn’t do that, it seemed Allen had seized control.

What came out of Doby’s mouth was no different.

“My brother’s attitude changed overnight. As if he became a completely different person. Oh, the brother I’m talking about is…”

“Allen Howard. One of the shareholders of Maximum Noise and the executive director. Currently, the head of technology development, right?”

“You found that out too? You’re more capable than I thought.”

It wasn’t a surprising evaluation.

“So why are you being treated like this? Unless you’re an illegitimate child.”

“Illegitimate child? Me?”

Doby frowned as if asking what nonsense he was talking about and added.

“Actually, my brother was adopted.”

“Is there a story behind it? But I don’t like long stories.”

“I’ll keep it short, so just listen.”

*

In modern society, orphans were worthless beings. They came into the world unwanted by anyone. They were like unusable surplus resources.

Moreover, even families without children didn’t want them.

No, to be precise, they had no reason to want them. Advanced artificial insemination technology had reached a point where new life could be conceived even with somatic cells.

“Let’s go to our home.”

So when Colin said those words, it felt like he had the whole world.

He wanted a family.

Allen, whose wish came true, didn’t care about the strict environment and responded with grades that met those expectations.

But Colin’s gaze was always on Doby.

A half-wit who couldn’t even breathe on his own from birth and could barely maintain life in a comatose state.

In a way, he was more useless than an orphan, but Allen hid his true feelings and treated Doby.

With such a gap, he believed without a doubt that he could catch up to the legitimate child, even if he was an adopted son.

But he realized it was purely his own delusion only recently.

That is, when Colin suddenly collapsed while handling business.

The fact that he had been suffering from a chronic illness since childhood was top secret, known to no one even within the company.

During that process, Colin revealed his true feelings that had never been shown before.

“Help Doby run Maximum Noise?”

The advice was so shocking that it still lingered in his ears.

It was a declaration that denied Allen’s life head-on.

“Even though I worked like a dog, the guy who does nothing but sleep is the priority?”

He was called a professional manager, but in reality, he was no different from a handyman.

In the end, an adopted son was just an adopted son.

Brought in to act on behalf of his biological child’s authority.

Suddenly, he saw Colin’s face quietly asleep in Anima. It had already been ten days since he lost consciousness.

How did Colin regard him usually?

A guard dog?

Or a cat that shows affection?

Either way, he wasn’t human.

It wasn’t fair.

It wasn’t right.

And it wasn’t satisfying.

He hadn’t struggled to live like this.

As soon as Allen left the hospital room, he contacted someone.

“I’ll accept the deal we talked about last time.”

The good son, the past Allen, was no longer there.

Only the adopted son who was rebelling for the first and last time remained.

*

After hearing Doby’s story, Ga-on yawned.

“You said you’d keep it short?”

“Is that all you have to say?!”

Having been a troubleshooter for about 100 years, by now, he could see the outline of a case just by listening.

Doby’s story wasn’t much different.

Two brothers and a vast inheritance.

It was a combination that was strange not to catch fire.

The only thing that bothered him was why Doby’s feet were being held now.

‘Perhaps…’

No, it was undoubtedly related to the missing Colin.

Was it also Allen’s doing?

While he was pondering, Doby spoke up.

“I have one thing I want to request.”

“I’m listening.”

“There’s an android named Sarah in this mansion. I want you to take care of her.”

That was unexpected. He thought for sure he would request personal protection.

“Because if I die, she’ll probably be discarded.”

“Is she someone precious to you?”

“She’s like a sister to me. She’s been taking care of me since I was young.”

It was a part that revealed where Sarah’s freedom came from.

“Why not request to get rid of your brother instead?”

“What, my brother, by you?”

Doby looked at Ga-on as if he had heard a silly joke and chuckled.

“If you provide the funds, I can hire mercenaries myself.”

“Are you saying to struggle so you’re not lonely on the way? Well, I don’t want to force death on a friend because of my personal greed.”

He knew that even facing him like this was a burden for Ga-on. But to challenge the decision of a third-generation conglomerate. It was reckless.

“And with the money I have, it’s hard to even hire you. So please, I want Sarah to be happy…”

Doby disappeared after saying that.

No, the power to the projector had been turned off.

The light from Anima was also dim.

An unexpected situation.

It seemed the power within the mansion had been cut. It was too coincidental to dismiss as a coincidence.

However, it wasn’t something an android, who couldn’t harm humans, would have done.

A third-party intervention.

Just as he was about to leave to assess the situation, Sarah burst through the door.

“Weren’t we not supposed to meet?”

“This is no time for silly talk.”