"Floating Island?" Alex frowned and revived the words Sia had mentioned, "What's that?" Sounds familiar, but is it a sightseeing spot? ”

"Unfortunately, not to mention sightseeing, it's a quarantine area where access is prohibited. Pen %Fun %Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Susia said as she continued to walk up the stairs, shaking her head.

"Isolation...... Yes! I remember! Alex slammed her right hand into the palm of her left hand with a look of sudden enlightenment: "I've seen it in novels before!" Remember- it's a place for prisoners, right? ”

"Miss Alex is referring to Mr. Andrew's debut novel, One Flew Over the Clouds, which is indeed a wonderful work."

As they spoke, the three of them had already stepped into the hall on the second floor of the castle, and the corpses of the bandits on the floor were visible in the bright light. Susia crouched down gently to check the condition of the corpse, but continued without stopping.

"But it's a processed fiction, and although the prototype does come from the Floating Island, there are still some discrepancies between the content and the facts in the story."

"Meaning, the prisoners, not the prisoners?"

Hearing Ciel's unrelenting voice, Susia raised her gaze from the corpse's wounds and looked at Ciel's expressionless face.

"Well, that's true, but that's not very accurate."

"What, that's a confusing statement."

Alex grumbled on the side.

"The inhabitants of the Floating Island are not prisoners as the folklore says, as Mr. Hill said." Susia raised her index finger with a serious face: "But there is another important point - there is no 'detention', the residents of the floating island are not 'detained', but only 'isolated'. ”

"Wow, the way you speak like a politician."

Adults are dirty—Alex had a disgusted look on her face.

"Miss Alex, this is not a rhetorical phrase, but a word to describe the facts more accurately." Susia seemed to care a little about Alex's words, she frowned slightly, and said with a serious face.

"Tell me, then, what's the difference between the two?"

"The difference is that 'detention' is only a unilateral imposition of imposition, but 'segregation' can be a measure taken with the consent of the person concerned."

"You mean, those people were voluntarily quarantined?" Alex asked rhetorically in a somewhat odd tone.

Less deceiving, her voice revealed the idea. Where would anyone want to live in isolation from the outside world? The girl who has been isolated from the world for sixteen years has a fairly full say in this matter.

"No, that's right." Hill on the side turned his face and glanced at her lightly: "Susia means that there are some people like that. ”

Hey, what kind of companion are you? And Susia or something, it's just the first time we've met, it's too close, right?- Alex was secretly slandering like this, and Susia nodded on the side.

"Exactly. Of course, not everyone is voluntarily quarantined, but in the floating islands numbered 2 and 3, 'quarantine' is mostly a matter of agreement between the two parties. ”

"With the numbering, it sounds more like a prison...... Speaking of which, what is the basis for isolation? ”

Hearing the girl's question, Susia didn't answer it immediately, she turned her head to look at Ciel next to her.

"Did Mr. Hill guess?"

Hearing Susia's words, Hill blinked slightly.

"Of course, this kind of problem can be imagined even by stupid people."

"Hey—"

Ignoring Alex's protests, Ciel continued with an impassive expression.

"It's based on race."

"Huh!?"

Hearing Ciel's words, Alex reacted quickly. Since Susya is a member of the Species Management Council, and she also mentioned that Anderson is not human, it is natural that what she is talking about now is related to race. Alex should have thought of these things, but the problem was that it was too strange to separate an entire race from a continent, and-

"Isn't that racism!?" Alex shouted with a glare.

Among the functions of the DMC, the elimination of racial discrimination is a very important one. Alex could not have imagined that such an official body would allow such obvious discrimination.

"Miss Alex, you may have some misunderstanding." Susia said seriously: "The crime of racial discrimination is based on the race living on the mainland. Those races on the floating island, from the very beginning, were excluded. ”

"Ah......h

Susia's words were so impactful that Alex was speechless for a moment.

Seeing her expression, Susia sighed slightly.

"Let's start at the beginning - do you two know how many intelligent races there are in this world?"

“...... More than two hundred? The girl who was in the midst of a cognitive collapse replied tentatively.

"It's three hundred and seventy-two -- that's according to the old standard, at the time of the last census." Susya said slowly: "Three hundred and seventy-two races, that is, three hundred and seventy-two structures, three hundred and seventy-two habits. With a variety of cultures and ways of living, it is impossible to get along completely. ”

"So......" Alex couldn't help but speak.

"That's right." Susia saw what she was about to say, interrupted her and continued: "At the time of the second racial integration, the original 'Racial Harmony Management Committee' selected two hundred and sixty-five races from all the races to stay on the continent after studying and analyzing all the races, and the remaining one hundred and seven races were assigned to one hundred and seven floating islands according to the standard and different numbers. It was basically a natural area a few kilometers above the ground, and the only teleportation array connected to the continent was also specially guarded. ”

"What does it mean to be a standard?"

Susia glanced at the expressionless Ciel and explained.

It refers to the method of classifying and numbering them, in which the ones that start with 1 are forcibly detained, and they are all races that are more harmful to other races or subjectively malicious; Those that begin with 2 are races that are not subjectively malicious but are harmful and need to be researched and transformed; Races that start with 3 are not recommended to live with other races because of the great uncertainty. ”

"I've never heard of this before......"

Alex had a complicated expression.

"It's not something that needs to be kept secret, it's just not specifically advertised. No one can change such a thing, and even if they knew, it was just a ruin of the mood for no reason, and besides, more than 400 years have passed......"

“…… I can't imagine the complexity, but is it really necessary to do that? ”

Alex couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, why don't I give Miss Alex an example." Susia nodded as she continued, "Let's take Floating Island 205, which is inhabited by the three-and-a-half-star Whoa-Wola tribe—"

"What, that cute name! Doesn't sound dangerous at all! ”

"......In short, the characteristic of the Wa-la-Wah is that when they start dancing, the other creatures around them will involuntarily make sounds to accompany them, and they can't stop until they finish dancing."

"What do you mean by ......Wow, whoa, whoa?"

"It's just what it looks like."

“…… Is it. Alex couldn't help but fall silent, she thought for a moment, and couldn't help but say, "In that case, it will only disrupt public order, and there will be no serious consequences." ”

"The problem is that they are natural fanatics who dance non-stop for twenty-three hours a day, three hundred and sixty days a year."

“…… That's a nightmare. ”

Alex and Ciel's brains conjured up images of people whoa-whirling, whirl-wah-wah, and a wonderful race spinning like a spinning top in full swing.

"That's it, the more dangerous Sector 1 floating island is also inhabited by a race of natural arsonists who set fires seven times a day; A race of 'superracists' who have a unique sense of identity with their own race and will attack all other races indiscriminately, and a suicide-inducing race that fills their surroundings with pheromones such as 'what is the meaning of life' with every breath"; There is also the race of replicators who can turn the person they see into two parts that have an independent consciousness and are exactly the same in every way, which raises all kinds of ethical questions...... And so on and so forth. ”

"Indeed...... Either one is a race that is going to be a big problem - or rather, I'm now curious about the state of the world when we lived together! ”

"It's because of the troublesome conditions that they are isolated." Susia continued: "Although it is said to be quarantined, the floating island is also very well equipped with various facilities. Entertainment, art, goods - these are also in frequent circulation with the outside world, and there is no shortage of material conditions, the only restriction is the prohibition of entry. ”

"Yes." Alex nodded thoughtfully, a new world revealed to her, and she struggled to sort out her mood for a while.

"Anderson, it's also because of the characteristics of the race, so you attack humans?"

Ciel's flat voice rang out from the side, which woke Alex out of her tumultuous mood. According to the girl's "righteous partner philosophy", it is necessary for her and Ciel to understand the criminal's reasons and motives for committing the crime, so she looks at Susia urgently.

"That's right! There are two questions here, didn't you say that the floating islands are strictly guarded? Why did that person flee to the mainland at the age of 10? Also, you said he was on Floating Island 302, but his aggressiveness was more convincing than that of Zone 3, and it was said that he was in Zone 1. ”

Alex thought of the prisoner's almost maddened hatred, an incomprehensible frenzy that could have been accepted if it had been instinctive.

"The first question is the mistake of our staff, because should it be the atmosphere, or is it a personal judgment? Anderson's Floating Island 302 was supposed to be one of the least likely to escape from all the floating islands, so the guards were a little slack......"

"That is, those innocent people died because of your mistakes?"

Alex's voice was wrapped in anger, and she couldn't help but want to pour out the anger in her heart when she thought of the horrific situation of those corpses she had seen before.

Just like a beast that escapes from its cage and attacks an innocent person, since it is instinct, you can't be harsh on the beast itself. The one who is really responsible for the lives of the victim and the beast in the incident should be the administrator.

"Alex."

Ciel tugged at her sleeve slightly, and Alex snorted and looked away from her angry gaze. Of course, she knew it was anger, and even though Susia and the guard were colleagues, that didn't mean she was to blame for the mistakes of the others—even though she knew that, Alex couldn't contain her feelings. The weight of those corpses weighed heavily on her heart.

"It's okay Mr. Hill, as Miss Alex said, it's really our fault." Susya spoke at this time; "The two of you have also encountered a lot of trouble because of this, and I am sorry for this on behalf of all the members of the 'Racial Harmony Management Committee'."

Saying this, Susia bowed her head deeply. It's obviously not his fault, but he is willing to apologize to someone younger than him without hesitation for this matter. Although she still had some nostalgia, Alex couldn't help but feel a little admiration for the captain from the bottom of her heart.

"It's not something you need to apologize for, is it?" Although I admired, I was embarrassed that Alex couldn't say anything anyway. She commented in a somewhat stiff tone, then continued to pull the subject: "What about the second question?" Why are such dangerous elements locked up in Zone 3? I remember you said that Zone 3 was—"

"Races that are uncertain and do not recommend living with other races." Susia picked up her words and continued, "That's exactly what happened, they weren't fundamentally a dangerous race. ”

"No, no, no, if it's not dangerous, it's not dangerous! That guy is completely mentally ill, okay? ”

"Nope." Susia shook her head in denial, "Target Anderson has always been in a normal state, the only time the anomaly was when he escaped from the Floating Island. ”

"What's normal!? That guy is completely indiscriminate attacking humans, huh! ”

"No difference." Hill blinked at the word, then looked up at Susia, "Do you mean ......?"

"That's right." Facing Ciel's gaze, Susia nodded calmly: "The characteristics of the Ampoti people living on Floating Island 303 are that they cannot distinguish between the individual and the whole, and project all their feelings for the individual on the whole category without discrimination, empathy. ”