Unspeakable bubbles

"Freedom and equality, sounds great, right? Heh, equality? Hahahaha."

Colonel Holder calmed himself down and said casually, "Hmph, I have a daughter. She's in her early twenties and works as a teacher. She's beautiful and kind-hearted. I'm thinking that since she's not getting any younger, I'm planning to arrange a marriage for her soon."

"Oh." The reporter, unsure how Holder had suddenly brought up his daughter, could only give a vague reply.

"I'm asking you, if your daughter were to get married, what would you look for in a future son-in-law?"

"This... has a stable job, loves my daughter, and preferably is a filial child."

Holder nodded, then shook his head: "Now, please lower your standards."

"Yes, I love my daughter and I have a job."

“Lower your standards again.”

"...I love my daughter."

"Please continue to lower your standards."

The reporter frowned. "Colonel, the issue we're discussing right now has nothing to do with my criteria for choosing a future son-in-law, does it?"

"This is a big deal. Please tell me your minimum requirements for your future son-in-law."

Holder emphasized, "That's the bare minimum!"

"..."

The reporter remained silent for a while: "A man with all four limbs intact."

"Yes, yes, that's it!"

"All four limbs intact, a man... the other person must be a man, a real person!"

"If I let your daughter marry a pig, or a dog..."

"Colonel!" the reporter angrily interrupted Holder. "Please stop your insulting remarks and apologize to my daughter!"

“Well, I’m very sorry,” Holder said sincerely to the reporter. “Now you know why we will never compromise.”

"..." The reporter seemed to understand something.

"The current law clearly stipulates that citizens of Elijah are prohibited from marrying Ajatasatrus."

"Those demi-humans want freedom and equality? Haha, once freedom and equality are achieved, this discriminatory law will inevitably be abolished."

“The problem is, once this law is abolished, those disgusting, filthy, and foul-smelling demi-humans will have the right to marry excellent Elijah women.”

"Oh God, the thought that my son-in-law might be some pig-headed man, and my grandson might be a squealing little piglet, makes me wish I were dead!"

"...But, Colonel, how could a normal woman like Elijah be attracted to a pig-headed man?"

The reporter countered, "Freedom and equality do not mean that subhumans are superior to humans. Even if there is legal equality in the future, the situation you described, where someone marries a pig-headed person, is an extremely rare occurrence."

"Hehe, buddy, you just said, 'How could a normal woman like Elijah be interested in a pig-headed man?'" Holder chuckled and patted the reporter on the shoulder.

"Uh," the reporter's expression changed.

“I understand, I understand, I believe all of Elijah’s parents can understand your ‘slip of the tongue’.”

Holder said calmly, "Besides, this can't be described as an extremely low probability; it's more like the difference between 0 and 1."

"Many things that have a probability of 0 will no longer have a probability of 0 after the so-called freedom and equality."

Holder said expressionlessly, “Giving demi-humans equal rights sounds nice, but in the end, our descendants will have to taste the bitter fruit of it.”

"As a father, as a human being with basic responsibilities, I, and we, vow never to compromise!"

"..."

"........."

"This is such a heavy topic, let's not watch Bubble anymore."

As Hisaie pressed the remote control, the voice on the TV, "The government has offered a bounty on the rebel leader Toka..." abruptly stopped.

"Huh?" The little girl was taken aback.

"Jiujiang, did you hear the last name said on TV?"

"I wasn't listening carefully, what's wrong?"

"Toka, the kind person Bubble met in Elijah was also named Toka."

"It's just a coincidence," Hisako said casually.

"Hmm, I wonder how Toka and Coco are doing now." The little girl seemed quite nostalgic.

"Alright, alright, I have class tomorrow, I'm going to sleep now."

"Oh, goodnight, Hisako!"

Section 226, Chapter 225: Shelter

Tap, tap, tap, all around was silent except for the rhythmic sound of Ninomiya Sui's footsteps.

She walked alone down the spiraling stone steps, a flashlight in her left hand and a burlap sack in her right.

Ninomiya would come to this place once every three months.

When I was little, my mother always held my hand and walked ahead of me. Now, without realizing it, I'm all alone.

Perhaps influenced by her surroundings, Ninomiya Sui felt a little melancholy.

Childhood memories kept flooding my mind: my first time riding a bike, my first time witnessing a mysterious surprise, my first crush...

Many memories, even those that Ninomiya had long forgotten, surfaced in her mind. This phenomenon was extremely abnormal, as if something was spying on Ninomiya's memories.

"When did you become interested in this? If you're bored and want a companion, I'll find a top-quality thoroughbred horse next time."

"..." Ninomiya Sui stopped in her tracks, but the feeling of having her memories revisited did not diminish in the slightest.

She stood there expressionless for a while, then finally started walking again.

Ninomiya Sui walked very fast; under these circumstances, she had no intention of continuing to dawdle.

Because of her irritable mood, Ninomiya Sui felt that the journey was exceptionally long.

Finally, at the end of the stone steps, a stone door covered with patterns appeared before her eyes.

Pushing open the door, a sliver of light shone through.

"I'm here," Ninomiya Sui said to herself as she stepped into a fantastical space.

The grass is lush and green, fruit trees are everywhere, and schools of plump fish swim in the babbling brook.

A dark blue fireball hung in the 'sky,' rendering the entire space as if in a dream.

Ninomiya Sui strolled on the grass. Ever since she entered this space, the feeling of having her memories reviewed suddenly disappeared.

Before long, Ninomiya Sui met the target of her trip.

Shaped like a horse, with a pointed horn on its forehead.

Its fur is pure black, and an inextinguishable flame burns on its four hooves.

The strange creature lay lazily on the ground, its eyes closed, seemingly having a sweet dream.

"Just a whim?" she asked, but received no response.

Ninomiya stared at it, and before long, a strong urge to vomit arose.

At the same time, the buzzing in my ears grew louder and louder, and my eyes started to burn.

She reached out and wiped away the tears that had involuntarily streamed down her face. Ninomiya sighed and, before she completely lost control, took out a pair of glasses, two earplugs, gloves, a mask, and other items from the sack.

These items look ordinary, but the words "Qiqiao Workshop" are engraved on the corners.

After putting on her gear and feeling the discomfort subside to a tolerable level, Ninomiya Sui breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fifty-seven seconds, just hold on a little longer, one minute should be enough."

"Last year it was barely fifty seconds, so this is a big improvement."

"How long can the former head of the Ninomiya family, my mother, hold out against you?"

Ninomiya Sui seemed to be questioning the black unicorn in the distance, or perhaps she was just talking to herself.

“Once, a Chaos Lord-level extraterrestrial being invaded our headquarters, and the elites of the Seven Rings Tower and I were almost no match for it.”

“That extraterrestrial species was incredibly powerful. While fighting it, I suddenly thought of you.”

"You just saw my memories, didn't you? I wonder, between you and them, who is better?"

"..." The black unicorn closed its eyes, but a creepy smile appeared on its face.

Ninomiya Sui turned her head away, pondering the meaning of that smile, and began to understand.

"Does that mean you're at least as good as it?"

"That's fine, that's fine."

"Hehe, if you really can't even compare to an alien species that appeared out of nowhere, then all the efforts our Ninomiya clan has made over the years have been for nothing."

Ninomiya Sui surveyed the space. Apart from the eerie blue 'sun' in the sky, everything in this underground space embodied the hard work of several generations of the Ninomiya family.

The Ninomiya clan's connection with the black unicorn—no, the Chaos Lord—can be traced back a century.

Years ago, a senior member of the Ninomiya clan, by chance, gained the favor of the Chaos Lord before him and was granted the privilege of offering him food as tribute.

Although this privilege is nothing more than offering food as tribute, which seems insignificant, people can still make a big deal out of it if they put their minds to it.

With the black unicorn making no attempt to conceal its preferences, the Ninomiya family quickly ascertained its likes and dislikes.

They love eating all kinds of fresh fruits and almost never touch meat products, except for live fish.

Disliking noise, except when the mood strikes, the Chaos Lord prefers to nap or take walks alone in its territory.

Because it dislikes the sun in the sky, it prefers to live underground rather than on the surface.

What's most interesting is that this Chaos Lord is actually a complete pacifist.

Bloodshed must never be tolerated in their habitat.

Having ascertained these circumstances, the Ninomiya clan mobilized the entire clan to develop this underground space.