關於 the day after tomorrow ending ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

【キンコン西野の今】

昨日の夜は大阪・道頓堀でサロンメンバーさんとの呑み会がありました。

映画公開前の呑み会が「ただの呑み会」なわけがなく、まぁ、お察しの通り、映画『えんとつ町のプペル』の決起集会ですね。
「映画公開に合わせて、大阪・道頓堀も盛り上げちゃおう」といった趣旨です。

今日は映画のエンディング主題歌の収録があって、それが終われば、また、一人でも多くの方に映画館に足を運んでもらう為の準備です。
ナンジャカンジャで明日の朝まで仕事。

作っては、空き時間を見つけて広報活動。
作っては、空き時間を見つけて広報活動。
賽の河原のように、最近は、この繰り返しです。

　
たとえば、学校のテストとかなら、テスト勉強をしていたら、今度のテストのおおよその点数が分かるじゃないですか？
　
実は、M-１グランプリとかも、今年の自分達が、どのあたりに食い込むかは、もう夏頃には、大体わかるんです。
各劇場でネタをかけて、そのウケと、ライバル達のウケを見ているので。

書籍も、メガヒットするかどうかは分からないですが、５万部売れたらヒット、絵本だったら５０００部売れたらヒットという世界なので、発売前の段階で、自分の新刊が合格ラインを越すかどうかは、おおよそ想像がつく。
クラウドファンディングで予約をとったり、事前に仕掛けていれば、尚のこと。

ただ、映画ばっかりは、蓋を開けてみないと分からない。
　
『えんとつ町のプペル』は作品の規模感としては、５０万人動員では大失敗のレベルなんです。
週末も名古屋が入っていますが、今、全国を飛び回って、本当に毎日のように、映画館に足を運んでもらう為の活動をしていますが、個人でいくらやっても、５０万人とかは届かないじゃないですか？
力技で届く領域じゃないくて、力技は上手くいっても起爆剤でしかなくて、今回の挑戦は明らかにムーブメントを起こさないといけない。

そのくせ、僕は何百人というスタッフの生活と、オンラインサロンだけでも、少なくとも７万人以上の期待を背負ってしまっている。

何もしなかったら恐怖で潰れそうだから、「あとは何ができる？」と自問自答して、やれる努力を片っ端からやるのですが、結局、どれだけやっても不安を拭い去ることはできない。

そりゃあ、まあ、気持ちが落ち着くことはないし、
少しでも油断するとハゲそうだし、
「また、厄介なところに首を突っ込んじゃったなぁ」と思うのですが、

こうして死にそうな目に遭わないと、生きていることが確認できない身体になってしまっているのは事実で、もう、昔みたいな暮らしに戻る方法はすっかり忘れてしまいました。　

僕にもあったんです。朝起きて、テレビを見ていた時代が。
今はもう「他人の思い出」みたいになっていますが。

でも、最近……これは完全に棚ボタなんですけど、やたら「ありがとうございます」と言われるんです。
こうして次から次へと無理難題にぶつかっていく姿が、励みになっているみたいで、いや、そりゃ、多少はエールのつもりでやっている部分もありますが、おそらく、誰のエールにもなっていなくても僕は今の道を選んでいるので、「誰かの為にやっています」とは言い切れない。だから、「ありがとうございます」と言われると、少し、モゾモゾしてしまいます（笑）

今、映画公開に向けて「ゴミ人間」というそこそこ人気の連載コラムをやっておりまして、是非、ご一読いただきたいのですが、

一昨日、『えんとつ町のプペル』の誕生に深く関わったスタッフの話を書いたんです。

(こちら↓)
https://thetv.jp/news/detail/1009417/

その子は、もうこの世界にはいないのですが、僕が日本中から叩かれている時でも、構わず僕を信じてくれていた子で、先日、ET-KINGのイトキンさんの話をさせていただきましたが、それと同じ理由で、『えんとつ町のプペル』という作品を作り、届けることが、彼女やイトキンさんのことを忘れさせないことに繋がってます。

何が言いたいかと言うと、

多くのスタッフや、
７万人を超えるサロンメンバーや、
「ありがとう」と言ってくれる人達や、
天国に逝っちゃったスタッフやイトキンさんや、
そのご家族の皆様や、その仲間の皆様…

といった本当にたくさんの方の想いが今回の挑戦には乗っかっていて、ちょっとやそっとでは白旗をあげるわけにはいかなくなっていて、
「ああ、こういうものを背負った時に人は強くなるんだなぁ」と実感しています。

　
ありがとうございます。

まぁ、なかなか眠れない人が続きますが、「今、頑張らなくて、いつ頑張るんだ」という話なので、映画公開まで後５０日間ほど、走り抜けたいと思います。

見届けていただけると幸いです。

▼西野亮廣の最新のエンタメビジネスに関する記事(1記事=2000~3000文字)が毎朝読めるのはオンラインサロン(ほぼメルマガ)はコチラ↓
https://salon.jp/nishino

▼Instagram版はコチラ↓
https://nishino73.thebase.in/items/25497065

━━━
２０２０年１２月２５日公開！
映画『えんとつ町のプペル』

▼オンラインムビチケ（特典付き）の購入はこちら↓
https://mvtk.jp/Film/070395

https://youtu.be/qDXuyUVRAuU
[now in xin nishino]

Last night we had a drinking party with salon members in dotonbori, Osaka.

The drinking party before the release of the movie is not ′′ just a drinking party ′′ but as you can see, it is a rally of the movie ′′ a in town ′′ (in Japanese)
It is the purpose of ′′ Let's make it up in dotonbori, Osaka in conjunction with the release of the movie

Today there is a recording of the ending theme song of the movie, and when it is done, it is also ready to carry a lot of people to the cinema.
Work until tomorrow morning at nan ja.

Make it, find free time and PR activities.
Make it, find free time and PR activities.
Like Kawara, these days, this repeat.

　
For example, if it's a school test or something, if you're studying test, you'll know the approximate score of the next test?
　
In fact, it might be the m-1 Grand Prix, and I know about which area we are going to be in the middle of the summer.
With a story in each theater, watching the uke and the uke of the rivals.

I don't know if the book is going to be a mega hit, but if i sell 5 million parts, it's a hit, and if it's a picture book, it's a world called hit, so I'm going to have a good time with my new book in the stage before the release. Whether or not, I can roughly imagine.
If you make a reservation with crowdfunding or set it in advance, it's a good thing.

I just don't know if I can open the lid all the movies.
　
in a town ′′ is the level of failure in 50 million mobilization.
Nagoya is in the weekend, but now I'm flying around the country, and I'm really doing my activities to carry my feet to the cinema like every day, but no matter how much I do it personally, 50 Can't you reach a million people?
It's not the area that can reach the power skill, but the power skill is going well, but it's a detonator, and the challenge of this time has to be clearly a movement.

That's right, I've been carrying over 7 million expectations for hundreds of staff lives and even just online salon.

If you don't do anything, you'll be crushed by fear, so I'm going to ask myself what I can do later, and I'm going to do all the effort I can do, but after all, I can't wipe my anxiety.

Ohhh, well, I don't feel relaxed,
A little bit of careless looks bald,
′′ I think I stuck my neck in a messy place again

This is the fact that if you don't get to die, you're becoming a body that can't be confirmed that you're alive, and you've already forgotten how to go back to life like a long time ago.

I had one too. When I woke up in the morning and watched TV.
Now it's already like ′′ memories of others ′′

But recently...... this is totally a shelf, but it's said to be ′′ thank you......
This is how the next one is going to be a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of Even if I don't, I'm choosing the path now, so I can't say ′′ I'm doing it for someone," So when you say ′′ thank you," it's a little bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit

I'm doing a very popular serialized column called ′′ garbage human ′′ for the release of the movie, and I'd like to read it.

The day before yesterday, I wrote a story about the staff who were deeply involved in the birth of ′′ a in town,"

(here ↓)
https://thetv.jp/news/detail/1009417/

The child is not in this world anymore, but even when I was slapped from Japan, I was a child who believed in me, and the other day, I was able to talk about ET-King's light. But for the same reason, it is connected to making and delivering a piece called ′′ a in town," and not to forget about her or light.

When you say what you want to say,

A lot of staff and
Salon members over 7 million people,
People who say ′′ thank you ′′
The staff and light who have gone to heaven,
To all the family and their friends...

So many people's thoughts are on the challenge of this time, and it's not going to be a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of
′′ Oh, I realize that people will be strong when they carry something like this

　
Thank you very much.

Well, there are people who can't sleep, but," I don't have to try hard now, when I'm going to do my best," so I'm going to have to run through about 50 days until the movie is released.

I would appreciate it if you could watch it.

▼ an article about the latest entertainment business of ryo nishino (1 articles = 2000 to 3000 characters) can be read every morning online salon (almost mail magazine) is here ↓
https://salon.jp/nishino

▼ Instagram version is here ↓
https://nishino73.thebase.in/items/25497065

━━━
Released on December 25, 2020!
The movie in a town ′′

▼ Buy Online Bangabandhu (with perks) here ↓
https://mvtk.jp/Film/070395

https://youtu.be/qDXuyUVRAuUTranslated

ASAKU® X Dragon Life
Part.1
All 13 chapters in this book.

Original author：Mingkun Liu
Translator: Claudia Liu @ fanyi4life
Preface: Outline of ASAKU X Dragon Life

In year 36722 on Epic Calendar...

On the surface in the Epic World, green Mirror Cores started to appear on Humans Continent, Fairies Continent, and Phantom Continent. The location differed every time it happened. Meanwhile, the center was pouring out little guarding monsters. In 24 hours, the green core would turn red and release energy of Reversal Impact in radius of one kilometer, to turn back the time. The energy released would bring even more powerful monsters, together with the supreme core monster. One Mirror Core would cause one Reversal Impact which would turn animals or monsters around berserk as well.

The Mirror Cores emerged one after another, with the intervals of three to seven days. Currently, there was no way to destroy it. Once a Reversal Impact took places, the time within the range would be turned back, as well as the lives and scenery would be restored to the previous condition. In other words, people might become younger, but those who haven’t outlived the time reversed would disappear. Things would be restored to normal once they leave the range.

When Reversal Impact happened, not only time was turned back, but plenty of monsters would pour in to protect the core. People that once lived in the time that was reversed would be brought back as well, but appeared like a reanimated corpse without a soul. Yet for others who still remembered them, it would be a moment to look forward to.

Since the time reversed could not be estimated, no one dared to risk inside the range and fight against the monsters. When the Reversal Impact took place, whoever was inside the range could do nothing but evacuate as soon as possible.

On the surface of the Epic World, the Fairies were the only ones that were invulnerable to Reversal Impact, which also explained why the Mirror Core would not be found on the Fairies Continent. The Fairies were shielded from the danger of the Reversal Impact. We were not entirely sure of the reason why the Fairies were protected, but they did not hold the power to destroy the core. The only solution the Fairies could propose was to seal the core, to stop the monsters from flooding in our world.

Delegated by Oudelos, the Fairies King, Asaku, as the Seal Priest from the Light race, led his partners to explore the world. With the Compass of No Return, which could locate the Mirror Core and calculate the time turned back, Asaku would seal the core to stop Reversal Impact and the inundation of monsters.
Chapter One: Asaku the Seal Priest

At three o’clock in the afternoon on Monday, August 12th, year 36722 on the Epic Calendar...

In the Village of Eden, part of the Kingdom of Phil and located on the south-west of Humans Continent, a Mirror Core appeared and villagers started to evacuate. Troops dispatched by the Kingdom of Phil were engaged in a hard fight against monsters to ensure a safe evacuation of villagers. In the last thirty minutes when the core started to turn red, the military retreated and set up a line of defense in a safe zone outside village. Once the Reversal Impact started, the monsters would no longer be limited. All of a sudden, in front of the troops popped up a Folding Corridor from which a young magic knight walked out. The magic knight was dressed in blue with a white cloak, equipped with the Seal Knife and followed by a clown puppet and a winged lion. There was also an adorable little girl, walking with the trio toward the village. Some soldiers saw them and tried to stop them. The magic knight turned around and said, “Per order of Oudelos, the Fairies King, I am the delegate to seal the Mirror Core. My name is Asaku, the Seal Priest from the Light race. You are all useless here, so just run.”

Soldiers said, “How insolent!”

Hearing this, the little girl standing by Asaku punched him on the shoulder and said, “Asaku, that is just rude!”

Then she turned around and saluted the soldiers, saying, “My name is Ellia, and I am the animal trainer from the Soil race. Asaku is my brother, and I apologize for his attitude. May I ask: who is the general leading the troops?”

The human general stepped ahead, replying respectfully, “We appreciate assistance from the Fairies. This is General Stalul. Please kindly seal the core to prevent even more damage.

Ellia asked, “Have all villagers evacuated?”

General Stalul replied, “Yes, we have sent everyone to a safe place.”

Upon hearing this, Asaku said, “Great! So now I can do anything I want freely!” Then he rushed into the village with the clown puppet and the illusion lion, in the direction where the core was with all the monsters.

Ellia saluted General Stalul again and explained, “I am here to investigate the reason why monsters have gone berserk. Even the generally gentle monsters are turned violent by the core. Please proceed with caution.” Then Ellia ran into the village and caught up with Asaku.

Facing assault of countless monsters, Asaku fought back with the Seal Knife. Those monster who were injured by the Seal Knife were sealed and frozen. Meanwhile, this knife absorbed and stored power of monsters. What’s more, it could also soak up power of attributes from the Nature. For example, if the knife came in touch with stone, it took in the power of soil.

When Asaku cast magic, he had the three-star matrix magic on his left hand, the reversed matrix magic on his right hand, so all he had to do was to take in the power, based on its nature, and use it on the matrix magic to initiate an attack. When swamped by monsters, Asaku could use the reversed three-star matrix magic to amplify the magic power; to focus fire, Asaku could zero in on the three-star matrix magic for a fatal blow. The more power the rituals absorb, the more potent the magic will be.

Ellia used the Love Racket to purge the monsters. Ordinary monsters would be pacified and become passive. Some of them would even help Ellia in combat.

The closer they were to the core, the more powerful the monsters were. Determined to dash into the core, Asaku put away the Seal Knife and yelled at the clown puppet, “Come, Ghost Card Uda, transform into the Sun Sword!" Uda then transformed from a clown puppet into a sword as shining as the sun. Asaku chopped his way toward the core with the Sun Sword. However, where the sun didn’t shine, the sword lost its glow and power as well. Uda said, “Asaku, seriously, I don’t have power without the sun. And the sun is setting soon. So chop chop, wrap it up now!”

Asaku replied, “Yea, roger that. I’ll finish the fight as soon as possible!” Then he hopped on the illusion lion, and dashed toward the core.

Soon Asaku and his partners arrived at the core that was about to turn red, but a baby’s crying caught everyone’s attention. Looking for where the crying was from, Asaku found a young mother holding a baby, hiding in a corner nearby. Asaku shouted but there wasn’t time. Without second thought, Asaku flew to the woman and grabbed her. Ellia held the baby tightly and hoped to take the mother and her baby to safety. At that moment, Reversal Impact happened!!

A strong wave of ripple dispersed and things around started to change. The young mother turned into ashes and disappeared, yet the baby in Ellia’s arms survived unharmed like a miracle. Shocked, Ellia held the baby and screamed, “You said everyone was evacuated, everyone!”

Checking on the Compass of No Return, Asaku learned that the time was turned back eighty years. Ghost Card Uda reminded Asaku to seal the core and prevent more loss.

Asaku asked Ellia to take the baby to safety, but once the baby left Asaku’s arms, he started to cry. No one but Asaku could calm the baby down. The baby clutched Asaku. In the end, Asaku carried the baby on his back and returned to combat to seal the core. Ellia even teased Asaku about the baby.

Irritated, Asaku yelled, “Shut up!!”

The yelling woke up the baby and he started to cry. At the same time, both Asaku and Ellia put a finger in front of the mouth and said, “hssssss” to hush the baby.

Asaku said, “The supreme demon has showed up. Let’s go knock it down, get it done and go home!”

The supreme demon for this core was a giant cannibal flower, spitting poison at Asaku and lashing him with its vines. Dodging with Flying-n-Leaping, Asaku chopped all vines he could but failed to get close to the demon for a direct strike.

Strange to say, but the baby Asaku carried stayed composed through the fight. He was so quiet, unusually quiet.

Ellia rode on a mountain pig she just calmed, trying to assist Asaku in combat. Yet the demon was too powerful, so all she could do was flee.

By then, the sun set completely. Ghost Card Uda shouted, “Oh no! The sun…” then it turned back into the clown puppet.

Without the Sun Sword, Asaku could only fight with the Seal Knife.

Asaku thought, “Seriously, the Seal Knife can’t do the monster much harm because the power it absorbs is not enough. I need a blaze to burn it!”

Then Asaku turned around and shouted at Samoyed, the illusion lion, “Cast three fire bolts at me!”

With one turn over, Samoyed jumped into distance and spat three enormous fire bolts to Asaku.

Asaku lifted his left hand, fingers spread out, and a three-star matrix magic appeared on his palm and took in the fire bolts. Jumping high, Asaku dashed back into the cannibal flower’s mouth with his left fist clutching and the fire bolts amplifying.

Asaku stepped forward, letting go of his left fist, “Three-star matrix magic, Fire Tornado!"

The wave of fire burned the cannibal flower into ashes. Asaku hurried to the Mirror Core with a transparent cube of crystal in his hand, the Holy Crystal Cell with inscription on it. Before Asaku successfully cast the ward and sealed the core, numerous monsters still fought on. Thanks to Samoyed, the illusion lion protected everyone.

With one flash, the ward was complete and the core was sealed. All monsters were gone right away, but the surroundings remained the same. Everything was the way they had been eighty years ago.

When it was safe, Asaku approached the villagers and wanted to hand over the baby to them. Unexpectedly, all villagers panicked. They were convinced that the baby was the son of Demon. Asaku learned that the mother gave birth to the baby without a known father, so no villager was willing to adopt the baby. Besides, the baby wouldn’t let go of Asaku. Without an option, Asaku carried the baby on his back and returned to the Fairies Continent with Ellia, who said goodbye to her new mountain pig friend, through Folding Corridor.

Chapter Two: A Trojan Horse

At eleven o’clock in the morning on Tuesday, August 13th, year 36722 on the Epic Calendar, a meeting was held in the Fairies Empire Meeting room with the presence of Fairies King Oudelos, General Alga, Priest Harp, Fairies Princess Jiefulo, Asaku, Ellia, and the human baby.

Asaku got down on one knee and updated the Fairies King Oudelos the current situation in the Village of Eden, while the human baby slept peacefully in the cradle tended by Ellia.

Asaku ended the report, “My King, this is the update of the event in the Village of Eden.”

The Fairies King Oudelos dismissed Asaku and turned to General Alga, saying, “My General, may I have your thoughts on this?” General Alga was red in the face, and the King yelled at him, “Seriously, you two got drunk this early in the day?”

General Alga explained, “Well, we are not to blame. Priest Harp brews the best wine ever, which is perfect to wake me up in the morning.”

Priest Harp argued, “Alga, I thought we were friends! And I even saved the goodies for you.”

“Ahem…” the King coughed to stop the fight, and then everyone fell silent. The King reached out his hand, and Priest Harp presented the King the wine. Bottom up and the King yelled, “Woot! Great wine indeed!” Then he turned around to Asaku and said, “All right, now we can continue.”

Seeing this, Princess Jiefulo said to the King angrily, “Father, really? You have business to attend to. How could you drink with them so early?”

King Oudelos said, “Awww it’s nothing, my honey. It’s quite peaceful on the Fairies Continent.”

Hands on her hips, Princess Jiefulo said, “Oh my… Some sense of danger, please?”

Scratching his head, Asaku said in a hopeless tone, “Do you old things really care about this Mirror Core?”

General Alga said, “We fairies do not interfere whatever happens outside the Fairies Continent. It was the Holy Dragon King who brought us an order from the Gods, stating that only the fairies can fight against the Reversal Impact, so the King is commanding you to handle the core in the Village of Eden.”

Asaku said, “The Holy Dragon King, you mean the conspirator? Why do we have to listen to him?”

Fairies King Oudelos replied, “Because this is an order from Gods, we have to comply.”

Asaku snorted.

Priest Harp walked toward the human baby and said, “This is a remarkable baby. He completely waves off the influence of Reversal Impact.”

Ellia pulled the baby’s blanket, and found on the blanket it said “Adam.” Surprised, Ellia even saw a birth mark of emblem of rainbow on the baby’s back.

The birth mark seemed to be quite weighty. Both the King and General Alga went to the baby to take a closer look at the baby.

Slowly, the Fairies King spat out, one word after the other, “Rainbow… Savior..."

General Alga said, “So the kid is the new successor of Rainbow Savior. His name is Adam."

Priest Harp said, “I suppose it was part of their plan to send Asaku off to the Village of Eden. We are set up!”

Asaku said, “So what now? This baby is so needy and wouldn’t let go of me. If he wakes up and I’m not around, he’s going to cry like there’s no tomorrow. Nuh-uh, I’m not babysitting anyone.”

General Alga asked, “Wait a second, Asaku, you know where the two cores were previously?”

Asaku replied, “Yes, they were in the Time Library on the Elves Continent and Hugilus Desert, south-east of Kingdom of Phil on the Humans Continent. But when I got there, Reversal Impact had been completed on the cores. When I went to the Eden Village, per the King’s order, I should’ve been able to seal the core and stop everything, but the kid was in the way.”

Priest Harp asked, “Both cores happened near Kingdom of Phil on the Humans Continent? Something doesn’t add up here.”

Abruptly, the Fairies King Oudelos stood up and yelled, “General Alga, rally the guards and prepare for war!” Immediately, General Alga dashed out of the meeting room and alarmed the guards!

Asaku asked, “What’s going on?”

Princess Jiefulo said, “Protect the baby with all you can.”

Hearing this, Ellia grabbed Adam who was sound asleep in her arms tightly.

Priest Harp yelled, “This is a scheme plotted against us! The core in the Time Library was to fabricate the history, while that in the Hugilus Desert was to restore the mirror in the lake. The baby was left there on purpose because they knew he wouldn’t be influenced by the Reversal Impact. In the end, you returned to the Fairies Continent through the Folding Corridor with the baby. Your tracks left behind granted access to those who cannot enter the Fairies Continent through the reflection of mirror.

At that moment, a tremendous crash was heard, which shook the whole Fairies Empire. Priest Harp said, “I will put the baby into deep sleep, so his crying wouldn’t attract the mobs. Ellia, please take care of Adam. Asaku, go defend us!”

Ellia replied, “Yes, Priest Harp, I will protect the baby with all my might.”

Asaku yelled, “The situation is dire. I’m right on it! Ghost Card Uda! Samoyed!”

Asaku summoned two escorts and the three rushed to where the loud noise was from.

Right above the Fairies Empire Hall appeared a crack of time and space, from which poured in lots of monsters! General Alga led the Royal Guards to fight!

Seeing this, Asaku yelled with surprise, “What is this all about!”

The next second, Asaku transformed the Ghost Card Uda into the Sun Sword and joined the fight.

Soon, the King and Princess Jiefulo came to the Fairies Empire Hall, heavily protected by the Royal Guards.

Out of the crack, a phantom fox with nine tails appeared in the middle of the hall.

The phantom fox said in an exciting tone, “Woot! You guys are here to welcome me, the gorgeous and graceful me, right? Show me your love~”

Asaku yelled, “You high or what? What did you just smoke!?”

Then a fairy soldier who was responsible for space defense reported to the King, “My King, a Mirror Core just popped up on the Fairies Holy Land!”

Hearing this, the king instantly ordered that General Alga guard the holy land, Asaku take care of the monsters to stop them from approaching, and commanded some royal guards to stay and assist Asaku.

Witnessing the depressing situation, Princess Jiefulo said, “I’ll stay and defend the empire with Asaku.”

The King replied in a serious tone, “No! You have to go to the Holy Land with General Alga.”

Through the corridor behind the hall, the King led General Alga, Princess Jiefulo, Ellia and others to the Fairies Holy Land.

All the monsters in the hall were decimated by Asaku and the royal guards while the phantom nine-tailed fox remained still, as if it had been watching a show, until everyone was killed but the fox.

Bursting in laughter, the fox yelled hysterically, “Now the spotlight is on me and only me~ I’m the center of everything like a superstar!”

When the fox was done talking, it waved its paw, creating an enormous shocking wave. In order to protect the royal guards, Asaku dashed to the front, dressed in Shadow Lion Armor and glowing, and blocked the attack of the phantom nine-tailed fox.

Equipped with the Sun Sword, transformed by Ghost Card Uda, and Shadow Lion Armor, transformed by the illusion lion Samoyed, Asaku was ready for combat.

Once ready, Asaku said to the remaining guards, “Go protect the holy land, and leave the monsters here to me.”

“Thank you, sir!” the royal guards replied and then retreated to the holy land.

The phantom nine-tailed fox said, "I am the Darkmirror General VI from the Mirror Continent. My name is Phantom Nine-Tailed Fox. Awww you can also call me Fox Nine-Nine, you know, cuter~”

The fox continued, “So you are Asaku, the one that has gained the power of Gods, the combination of Gods and Fairies, and that makes you a real… goof, you know, god plus fairy, so goof.”

Asaku shouted back, “You goof! What is this with your stupid nickname, Fox Nine-Nine? I don’t have time for this. I’m going to knock you out now!”

Fox Nine-Nine said, “Awww you think you can beat me? Muahaha~” He blinked to Asaku at once and initiated an attack!

The Fox was rather fierce, so Asaku was having a hard time fighting even with the Sun Sword and the Shadow Lion Armor. Meanwhile, Asaku cast matrix magic to absorb the Fox’s magic. Thanks to the Shadow Lion armor, most of the damage was mitigated.

Moving and attacking, the Fox laughed hysterically, “Hahahaha oh my my~ becoming one with god at the price of fairy power? So you can never cast any elemental magic and… now you can only attack by taking in power first? Awww that is hilarious… hahahaha!”

Asaku said, “Why do you look into my history?”

The Fox replied, “Awwww that’s because I love you, silly~ Muah!”

Asaku yelled, “OH MY GOD that is soooo disgusting!!”

Next, the Fox’s nine tails all spread out, looking all appealing and alluring. The Fox said, “Asaku~ this is going to be my mightiest blow, as powerful as my love for you~”

Even with bare eyes, Asaku could see tremendous power compile on the Fox. He knew, this assault would decide the ending of the fight.

On his mind, Asaku was talking to Uda and Samoyed, “We have to use that skill.”

Ghost Card Uda said, “Are you sure, Asaku? You haven’t mastered the power of God, and this strike will exhaust you. We don’t know when you’d recover.”

Samoyed argued, “But this is the only way out now. I cannot take any more attack from the Fox. We have to knock him out first. We will guard you, Asaku.”

By then, the Fox took in enough energy. He shouted, “Multiple Foxes Explosion!”

Turning over, a pair of angel’s wings and a pair of fairy’s wings grew out on Asaku’s back. The Keys of Seven Attributes flew around Asaku. Glowing, the light around Asaku turned into seven huge swords. Asaku shouted, “Take that, God’s power is with me. Seven Keys Comet Impact!”

The fatal strikes from both parties collided. The Fox was too late to dodge the attack and was gravely injured, so he fled into the crack back to the Mirror Continent. What’s more, Asaku’s potent attack almost wiped the Fairies Empire clean.

Ghost card Uda and the Illusion Lion Samoyed broke away from Asaku, while the latter collapsed on the ground. He was still conscious, but couldn’t move even one finger.

Samoyed carried Asaku on his back and took Uda to the Fairies’ Holy Land. By then, the Fairies Continent that had remained intact for thousands of years was officially intruded.

Arriving at the Holy Land, Asaku saw the Mirror Core on the altar in the center of the holy land. The King was leading fairies to fight against the monsters. Feeling hopeless, Asaku tried to put himself together and asked, “How come Priest Harp hasn’t sealed the Mirror Core?”

Chapter Three: Freeze Froze Frozen

At two o’clock in the afternoon on Tuesday, August 13th, year 36722 on the Epic Calendar.

A Mirror Core was placed in the most important holy land on the Fairies Continent, while Priest Harp didn’t even bother sealing the core; instead, he was only fighting against monsters.

Brought to Priest Harp by Samoyed, Asaku asked Priest Harp why he hadn’t sealed the core in the Fairies Holy Land. After all, it was Priest Harp that gave him the Holy Crystal Cell.

“Holy Crystal Cell was brought back from the God’s Continent by Holy Dragon King. Only you could use the crystal, which is why you were assigned this job.” Priest Harp explained to Asaku.

Upon hearing this, Asaku turned depressed and said, “But I’m too weak to activate the Holy Crystal Cell. So there is nothing we can do but to witness our holy land being destroyed by the Reversal Impact?”

Priest Harp said, “Rest, Asaku, and restore as much health as possible.”

At that moment, Ellia ran toward Asaku, crying, “A guy in a black cloak took Adam away… I was no rival to him… it was my fault…”

Asaku comforted her, “No, it wasn’t your fault. Don’t cry, Ellia…”

Priest Harp said, “I suppose kidnapping Adam was part of the plan.”

General Alga led the Royal Guards to set up a formation of attack, fighting against the monsters around the core. The Fairies King stood right above the core, trying to smash the core with magic of thunder but in vain.

A strong dark light emitted from the high tower of the holy land, creating a gap of time and space. From the gap, a knight riding on a dark dragon flew out. In a voice as loud as thunder, the knight said, “I am General Philips, the Darkmirror General II. Now, authorized by the Mirror Continent, I officially declared war against the Fairies Continent.”

The knight on the dark dragon emitted a unique magic power, which froze all monsters.

Sensing the power, both Asaku and General Alga blurted out, “It’s the power of Salu, the missing fairy of the wind race! Why would fairies’ power pour out from him?”

General Alga added, “Not exactly. This is something more potent, combining fairies’ power of wind attribute and dark power.”

“I can’t think of anyone on the Fairies Continent that can compete with him.”

The Fairies King fell silent.

General Philips waved, and the dark dragon spat out a super tornado that blew away the fairies troops. Some fairies cast defense for protection. Then everyone noticed that the wind did no harm to Princess Jiefulo.

The King commanded, “Take shelter behind Princess Jiefulo.”

The entire troops all hid behind Princess Jiefulo and they followed her wherever she went.

Princess Jiefulo asked, “Why are you guys staying behind me? I’m gonna teach that General Philips a lesson.”

Once she said these words, she moved to General Philip’s direction. The troops were begging her not to move, so they could stay where they were.

General Philips noticed this as well and he showed strong emotion. The next second, he darted to Jiefulo.

While everyone was trying to protect Jiefulo, General Philips grabbed Jiefulo and kissed her. Everyone stopped and so did the furious tornado.

Turning red, Princess Jiefulo pushed Philips away angrily and slapped him hard. “You crazy psycho! How dare you kiss me like this? Who do you think you are?” she shouted at him.

Soothing his cheeks, General Philips seemed disappointed and said, “You’ve forgotten all about…”

Then the dark dragon came take Philips away.

Seeing Philips leave, Jiefulo felt her heart beating fast. She touched her lips that Philips just kissed and burst into tears. She wondered, “What is wrong with me that I feel so sad and sorrowful?”

General Philips rode the dark dragon to the front of the fairies troops and taunted, “Send your best to challenge me.”

General Alga jumped into air, summoned his mount, the griffon, and accepted Philips’ challenge. “This is General Alga,” Alga said, “I am the strongest guardian on the Fairies Continent.”

General Philips said, “I have been waiting for this moment, to finally challenge you to a duel.”

General Alga asked, “Can you answer me one question?”

General Philips interrupted him and said, “I can tell you directly what you want to know. First of all, I am Salu, the missing fairy of the wind race. Secondly… the Salu you know are actually two people. One is on the Fairies Continent and the other is on the Mirror Continent. My real name is Philips.”

General Philips looked at Asaku who was still trying to restore his strength, saying, “Just like Asaku, we both have double masks.”

General Alga gasped, “Double what?!”

Still powerless, Asaku thought, “What does it mean exactly, double masks?”

Then Uda saw Philips’ weapon and said to Asaku, “He has the Moon Sword!”

Asaku replied, “No way. That's not possible.”

Uda explained, “I know I’m right. Moon Sword and I are two ghost cards, and we are connected. How did he get it?”

General Philips said, “Well, time for diplomatic courtesy is over, so I’m going launch an attack~ To begin with….”

Once General Philips snapped his finger, the core was turning red and Reversal Impact was imminent, which shocked Asaku and all the other fairies.

Asaku said, “I can’t believe that he could’ve sped up the time for Reversal Impact. I’m going to seal the core!”

Pity that Asaku was still too weak to even get up. All he could do was lie on Samoyed.

Asaku said to Samoyed, “Get closer, so I can touch the core.”

Samoyed moved closer to the core, and Uda helped Asaku put his right hand on the core. Suddenly, the turning slowed down, leaving Asaku in excruciating pain.

Priest Harp said, “Asaku, you can’t seal the core like this. You are only delaying the inevitable. If you continue like this, you will die from exhaustion.”

Asaku said, “Even this is to buy a bit more time… this is the only thing I can do now.”

Hearing this, Ellia put her hands on Asaku’s, and said,

“I want to guard the Fairies Continent as well.”

Asaku lowered down his head and nodded.

Riding on the griffon, General Alga initiated an attack at Philips. The crash of the two most potent powers in the whole world created a ripple that froze the fairies troops and monsters completely.

As time went by, the combat was heating up, and Asaku couldn’t hold it any more.

All of a sudden, Philips turned to the Fairies King and said, “My King, allow me to tell you: the time set on the core is 1000 fairies’ years, roughly 41 human years. That would be the time of the Eight Races for the fairies!”

Upon hearing this, all fairies appeared shocked and scared.

General Alga said, “I will never ever allow you to turn back the time to 1000 fairies’ years ago. That was a chaotic time, which will cause devastation in the Epic World at this moment!”

Just when General Alga was preparing to launch his most powerful attack, Compressed Air Cannon, General Philips unexpectedly attacked with the same strike!

General Alga said, “You are my student that I’m proud of, and you are Salu from the Fairies Continent!”

Smiling, General Philips remained quiet...

While the two were about to crash, the core glowed in red, the Reversal Impact was triggered and Asaku couldn’t hold it anymore!

At that moment, the Fairies King Oudelos shouted, “As your King, I will not allow the fairies to perish here. Race of Air, assembly to initiate the teleportation ritual!”

Just as the Race of Air was casting the spell, the King said to General Alga and Priest Harp, “Guard the Fairies.”

Quickly, General Alga retreated to the King, together with Priest Harp who yelled at Asaku, “Go! Run as fast as you can!”

The Fairies King then drew a special magic sigil on his hand, which turned into an eagle that dived into the ground.

The King nodded at General Alga and Priest Harp, and the trio shouted, “The supreme sealing magic of the Fairies, Frozen Seal!”

That was the time the Reversal Impact starting to affect the surroundings and the Race of Air launching the teleportation ritual.

General Philips said, “Dang! You even thought of freeze the whole Fairies Continent. Nuh-uh, I’m not going to be trapped here.” Then he opened the gap of time and space but didn’t leave without taking a second look at Jiefulo.

The Reversal Impact was stopped by Frozen Seal, so was the teleportation ritual which wasn’t fast enough to save all fairies. Asaku was lucky, as he was sent away. Right before he was teleported, he heard Priest Harp, saying, “Find the Fairies Queen Aranda… only she can save the Fairies. You are our only hope, Asaku.”

Tears in his eyes, Asaku was sent into the teleportation tunnel and he lost consciousness.

The time on the Fairies Continent stopped. No one could enter, nor anyone could exit.

Chapter Four: Tear of the Mermaid

At ten o’clock in the morning on Monday, August 19th, year 36722 on the Epic Calendar...

Waking up but still dizzy, Asaku heard familiar voices and they were Uda, Samoyed and Ellia. The three were excited to see Asaku. “Woot! Finally, you’ve come to yourself!” said Uda.

Ellia leaned over to Asaku and said, “I was so so worried about you, Asaku… Thought I’d lost you.”

Asaku said, “I’m good. So where are we now?”

Uda replied, “We were sent to the Mermaid Kingdom on the Phantom Continent. The Mermaid Queen arranged accommodation for us here. You slept for almost a week!”

Asaku looked around, and found himself in a small, warm room showered in sunshine reflected by water. “It seems to be a girl’s room,” said Asaku.

Uda said, "Because there are only girls in the Mermaid Kingdom.”

Asaku was surprised, and he saw the room was filled with flowers, so he asked,

"What are these flowers about?”

Shrugging, Uda grinned, “The flowers are from your fans. The whole kingdom knows about you, and all girls are crazy for you. They’ve been sending flowers here, together with their greetings. The Mermaid Queen even promulgated to address you as the Sleeping Prince Charming of the Fairies…”

Samoyed turned around and giggled...

Footsteps were heard outside the door, so Uda told Asaku to fake sleep. If people knew he was awake, the fans would inundate the house immediately.

So Asaku lay down to fake sleep, and then about ten mermaids entered the room with flowers and gifts. Samoyed turned invisible, and Uda transformed into a clown puppet. Nothing could stop these girls --- they all kissed Asaku on the cheeks and wished him the best. It took them quite a while to have all the fun and leave.
Asaku got out of bed, with his hands on the cheeks that were just kissed. All smiling, Asaku blushed.

Ellia looked away, pouting unhappily.

Uda knocked on Asaku’s head and said, “Wake up!”

Asaku said, “I don’t want to stay here like a caged animal. I’m going to sneak out and look for some intel.”

“But Asaku,” Ellia said, “you can’t just go out like this. As the Sleeping Prince Charming of the Fairies, you will create a chaos. Let me dress you up.”

The Mermaid Kingdom is located under water, protected by a ward deep in the ocean. In the kingdom, one can breathe as freely as they can on the land.

On the street, there was a mermaid dressed in a maid’s outfit with a weird hairstyle and makeup, and a clown puppet on “her” shoulder. That was Asaku. Ellia dressed up as a mermaid as well, following Asaku. Samoyed turned invisible and stayed at their side.

Asaku asked, “Why do I have to go out in a maid’s costume? This is so silly! The skirt… it’s so cool down there and that feels so… weird!”

Laughing, Ellia replied, “Told you to wear some panties.”

“Nuh-uh,” Asaku said, “no girls’ panties for me!!”

Uda said, “But people would recognize you without the costume! That’d be trouble if they knew who you are. Thousands of mermaid girls would surround you to show you their love.”

Samoyed turned invisible so only his voice was heard, “Don’t count on me. I can’t stop all of them~”

Asaku said, “What is wrong with this place? The air is so stuffy. It just feels wrong, and the wind is not blowing at all.”

Uda replied, “The Mermaid Kingdom is quite exclusive. They are particularly hostile against the Beast Kingdom on the Phantom Continent. Both Samoyed and I are citizens of the Beast Kingdom, so we can never ever be found here. People say the Mermaid Kingdom enjoys a pleasant relationship with the Fairies Continent, so maybe this is why you are sent here.”

Ellia loved pets and she was talking to the angel fish roaming on the road. Asaku asked her, “Why are you talking to a fish?”

“I can talk to all living creatures~” Ellia replied, “and I want to befriend with all the cute ones.”

Asaku shrugged and said, “I can only understand Uda and Samoyed.”
At the time, a dowager walked by with a group of maids. The dowager gazed at Asaku, which made both Asaku and Ellia nervous.

Completely ignoring Ellia, the dowager said to Asaku, “Huh~ aren’t you a pretty one~ a little bit too flat-chested but no matter. What is your name? Who do you work for?”

Asaku tried to reply with a higher pitch, “Bonjour, Madam! My name… is Eklia, and I am the maid for Mrs. Mel.”

Upon hearing this, the dowager flipped and yelled, “What a waste!! You are adorable and you work for that crazy hag, Mel!?”

Then she took ten pearls from the bag and handed them over to Asaku, telling him, “This is the down payment. You go back and dissolve the contract with that hag, and report to Duke Vitalis Castle tomorrow.”

Once she was done talking, she led the maids and took leave. Asaku and the rest were left behind, startled.

Asaku complained, “Who is she and how can she call me flat-chested…”

Ellia laughed and said, “Eklia… my dear brother… that is awesome! You were hit on dressed up as a girl!! And that Lady Mel is real, too!”

Samoyed laughed so much it almost rolled on the floor.

“That is not funny!” Asaku said, “We still have business here. We’ve lost track of the core for one week, and Priest Harp said I have to find the Fairies Queen to save the Fairies Continent. How can I waste even one more minute here to be someone’s maid?”

Just then Asaku’s stomach rumbled, so he looked at the restaurant on the road and decided to dine in there.

By the entrance, Ellia said goodbye to the angel fish and entered the restaurant with Asaku. They chose a table in the corner to avoid attention.

“What!” Asaku screamed when he read the menu, “One set costs one pearl!”

Uda stopped Asaku immediately, “Quiet, Asaku, if you don’t want to pay, we can go back to the accommodations the Queen arranges for us.”

“Nuh-uh,” Asaku refused, “No way!”

Blushing, Asaku said, “I do enjoy being so popular though…”

Ellia punched Asaku on his shoulder, “Asaku, you are terrible!”

Then the waitress dropped by, asking, “What can I get for you today?”

Asaku gave a gesture of four fingers and said, “Four set meals, please.”

“Are you sure,” the waitress asked, “that you can eat so much?”

Asaku replied, “Sure, no problem at all.”

The waitress replied, “All right, four pearls then. The food will be served right away.”

When the food came, Asaku devoured everything in front of him, while Uda and Samoyed hid in the corner and ate quietly.

Asaku said, “I think we should leave the Mermaid Kingdom as soon as possible for the Beast Kingdom where I can ask help from an old friend, King Brad.

Samoyed said, “But it is forbidden to use the Folding Corridor in the Mermaid Kingdom, so we have to go through the connected tunnel to the Beast Kingdom above water.”

“But the tunnel is guarded," Samoyed continued, “no one is allowed to pass without the permission from the Mermaid Queen.”

“Besides,” Ellia said, “it is rude to leave without saying goodbye. We should at least thank the Queen for her kindness to take us in.”

Uda said, “It is true that the Mermaid Kingdom does maintain a good relationship with the Fairies Continent, but the Mermaid Queen made it official that Asaku is the Sleeping Prince Charming of the Fairies… that just doesn’t sound right.”

Asaku, “But if we don’t go back, we need to make money.”

“Asaku," Ellia said while she laughed, “ you have to support us all by working as a maid then!”

Both Uda and Samoyed nodded.

Holding his head, Asaku grumbled, “Why am I always the one that does all the work?”

While Asaku and his friends were talking, they had no idea that they had been surrounded by mermaid soldiers.

Politely, a girl mermaid soldier said to Asaku, “Friend from the Fairies Continent, our Queen would like to speak to you in Her Majesty’s Castle.”

Asaku said, “Ah… you’ve caught me…”

The mermaid soldiers took Asaku and his friends to the Castle where the Mermaid Queen resided. On the way, the road was full of fans who were crazy for Asaku. They screamed his name and more, “Asaku, my Sleeping Prince Charming of the Fairies… I love you~~”

At night in the castle , Asaku was taken to the Throne Hall where the Mermaid Queen sat on her throne. Both Asaku and Ellia took a bow, and Asaku addressed to the Queen, “Your Majesty, my name is Asaku, and I am from the Fairies Continent. We do not mean to intrude, as our presence here is nothing but an accident. We sincerely beg for your kindness and forgiveness.”

The Mermaid Queen replied, “I am the Mermaid Queen Kamina. You can tell your two escorts to show themselves.”

Hearing this, Uda and Samoyed turned visible and got down on one knee, asking for forgiveness.

Queen Kamina said, “I am fully aware of the situation. The rest of you can leave now.”

The Queen’s entourage took leave and only the Queen and Asaku and his friends remained.

“Follow me.” The Queen said once they were left alone.

The Queen led Asaku and his friends to the Royal Garden, hid them in a concealed corner. She then told them to stay quiet and asked Asaku to play along no matter what happened. Though confused, Asaku concurred.

Shortly, a young woman walked into the garden, with a fairy man, whose hair is white and elegant, flying in the air. The couple looked at each other deeply in the eyes, and the man took out a flower made of seashells and crystal.

The white-haired man said, “Mermaid Princess Yulia, I want to hold your hands in mine forever. Will you marry me?” The young woman shook her head and replied, “No, Fluffy… It has to be my Mother who can make the decision.”

Fluffy held the woman by her hands and said, “Then let’s elope!”

Yulia refused and said, “As much as I love you, such behavior is not allowed.” Then the man tried to leave with the woman, while the Mermaid Queen walked out between them and Asaku and his friends still hid in the dark.

The Queen reprimanded, “How insolent! Release my daughter and leave now!”

The white-haired man talked back, “I have no fear to whatever queen, including you, Your Majesty. If I snap, no one in your kingdom is capable of taking me down.”

The Queen said, “You are indeed contemptuous, but we do need a powerful man to be our King and to protect our people.”

The white-haired man laughed, saying, “So~ Your Majesty has agreed to our marriage then?”

The Queen continued, “But only the most powerful and the most beautiful man can be our King.”

Fluffy replied, “Awww thank you, Your Majesty, for all the kind words.”

The Queen interrupted Fluffy, “No, you are not the only one that is qualified here. Recently, the Sleeping Prince of the Fairies has visited us. He is even more beautiful than you and well-loved by the whole kingdom.”

The Queen then pointed at Asaku who had no choice but to show up, and the latter played along, “I am the Fairy Prince that is truly qualified to be the King. Leave now, before it turns even more humiliating.”

Fluffy yelled, “I will challenge you to a duel! Don’t be so sure you’ll win, Asaku from the Fairies Continent.”

Asaku was surprised, asking, “How do you know who I am? Have we met?”

Fluffy just looked at Asaku without saying one more word.

The Queen clapped and said, “Quiet down, both of you. As the Queen, I shall be fair and just. I will hold a Joust for a Spouse and the winner can marry Princess Yulia and become the future King of the Mermaid Kingdom!”

Asaku yelled in surprise, “What?!”

Fluffy said, “Deal! When will that be?”

“Three days from now," the Queen replied, "and it will be held in the arena.”

“Mother, how could you make such a decision…” Yulia cried while she ran away.

Fluffy was full of confidence and he said, “I’ll show you what I’ve got!” before disappearing in the night.

At the same time, Asaku, Uda, and Samoyed said, “It’s a set up…”

The Queen looked back at Asaku, nodding and smiling…

Back to the Throne Hall, Asaku sat on the corridor, pouting.

The Queen explained, “I understand it was really rude to set you up like this, but the situation called for it as we do not have enough arms to deal with this phantom.”

“Phantom?” Asaku asked, “Fluffy is a phantom?”

The Queen nodded and replied, “Yes, he is a fox from the Illusion Tribe of the Beast Kingdom on the Phantom Continent. We mermaids will never ever marry a beast.”

Samoyed concurred, “The three kingdoms on the Phantom Continent are quite hostile against each other. It is a great mercy that Uda and I can remain free here.”

“But are the arms here so weak?” Asaku asked, "Besides, if they truly love each other, why would Your Majesty have to stand by the rule and separate them?”

The Queen stood up, pointing her scepter at the ceiling right above the throne. The ceiling broke and there was a…

“Mirror Core!” Asaku yelled, “And it is red, so the Reversal Impact occurred already!”

Then Asaku took out the Compass of No Return to confirm the time reversed, but only figured out there was no difference in time. The Mermaid Kingdom wasn’t sent back in the past during the Reversal Impact. What was this all about?

Before Asaku could have a better understanding of what was going on, lots of monsters flooded from the core. Asaku and his friends prepared for combat. One monster dashed toward the Queen, and Ellia screamed, “Watch out, Your Majesty!”

To everyone’s surprise, the monster went right through the Queen.

The Queen said, “Don’t worry about me. Asaku, could you please seal this Mirror Core, first?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Asaku replied.

Covered by his friends, Asaku reached the core and sealed it by performing Holy Cell. With the core sealed, the Mermaid Kingdom was freed, and the air refreshed and flew again.

The Queen sat on her throne, and started to explain from the beginning, “About six months ago, the core occurred here. Even with all the arms we could afford, we could not resist it, and then the Reversal Impact took place.”

Surprised, Asaku asked, “But the time remains the same?”

The Queen replied, “The Reversal Impact turned back the time to 130 years ago, when the Mermaid Kingdom was an island above water, instead of deep in the ocean. Our Kingdom didn’t sink into the water until thirty years ago.”

“So the Reversal Impact brought back the Mermaid Kingdom 130 years ago!” Uda said.

The Queen said, “That is correct.”

Asaku asked further, “But what about the Mermaid Kingdom that was influenced by the impact…?”

The Queen replied softly, “Disappeared. We have all disappeared. Everything you see now is a reflection of our thought. We keep on living like this.”

Then the Queen took off an earring in the shape of a drop of water from her left ear, and she gently continued, “This is our beloved treasure, the Mermaid Tears. When the Reversal Impact struck us, the grave fear and sorrow from all our people triggered the Mermaid Tears.”

Trying to hold back tears, Asaku said, “So Your Majesty, and all the people I have seen in the kingdom are reflection of thoughts, protected by the Mermaid Tears.”

Ellia couldn’t hold it anymore, and she just cried out loud.

The Queen continued, “Asaku, you understand this, don’t you… Yulia cannot marry Fluffy, even with my blessing. Once Yulia is married to Fluffy, she, together with the whole kingdom, will realize that we are gone, no more. Could you keep this secret between you and me, please?”

The tears wouldn’t stop from falling, and both Asaku and Ellia nodded.

“Even it’s just an act,” the Queen said, “please do beat Fluffy, marry the princess, become our new King. Please, Asaku… give my people new hope. By then, we will no longer need the Mermaid Tears, and we can disappear with happiness. Could you please do us one last favor?”

Without saying a word, Asaku nodded. Ellia cried so much even the angel fish could swim in her tears.

Three days later, people started to swarm into the arena. The whole kingdom was there to witness the Joust for a Spouse held by the Queen.

Ready and set, Asaku slowly walked into the arena, to keep his promise.

Chapter Five: A Happy Smile

At ten o’clock in the morning on Thursday, August 22nd, year 36722 on the Epic Calendar...

Almost all the citizens of the Mermaid Kingdom gathered at the arena, the cheers were deafening as today would be the day, a new king would be elected. The champion could also win the hand of Princess Yulia, and the game started!

Both Asaku and Fluffy entered the arena, gazing at the other. The atmosphere totally changed.

Fluffy would like to charge in and attack Asaku immediately, while the latter looked at the Queen with so much sadness in his eyes. The Queen nodded at Asaku, with the crying Princess Yulia on her left side, and Ellia on her right side.

The horn was blown, which could be heard miles away. The game officially started!

On his hand, Fluffy attacked with a spear bursting of energy, and Asaku fought back with Uda and Samoyed, both transformed into his most trustworthy gear. Asaku’s Sun Sword clashed with Fluffy’s Shine Spear. Sparkle could be seen everywhere. As the fight intensified, Fluffy cast Magic Light Sword to attack Asaku, which shocked Asaku who tried to block it with the shield on his left hand.

Surprised, Asaku yelled, “Did I see it right? That was my Magic Light Sword?”

Samoyed replied, “You are right. That is your magic.”

Fluffy asked, “Hey Asaku, aren’t you a master of magic attack? Since when you have switched to a sword? Where is your magic?”

Asaku kept quiet, “Tsk…”

Uda said, “Asaku, this seems like a deja vu. I’m sure we know this Fluffy from somewhere.”

Fluffy yelled, “Woot! This is fun! I’m holding nothing back!”

Casting Light Sword Magic, Fluffy charged in to Asaku and attack!

Reaching out with his left hand, Asaku absorbed in the power with the three-star matrix magic. The matrix magic could take in power of three attacks only, so Asaku was still harmed. On his right hand, Asaku blocked the attack of Shine Spear with his Sun Sword.

Rolling over, Asaku released Aurora Impact! The three-star matrix magic seemed to take Fluffy by surprise. While Fluffy tried to dodge the attack, Asaku pushed further with the Sunshine Impact. Both impacts hit Fluffy hard and Asaku was winning.

“I never knew you could attack like this,” Fluffy shouted, “but your light magic doesn’t hurt me much as I also master light magic. You can’t beat me by absorbing my magic power!”

All of a sudden, the white-haired fairy turned into an enormous white fox, together with a bunch of small white foxes.

Asaku yelled, "... I... I hate foxes…”

The crowd started to scream and tried to run away. Princess Yulia was so scared that she wept, and the Queen explained to her this is who Fluffy really was. Princess Yulia cried even louder for being lied to.

Then Fluffy attacked with its enormous body and tail, while casting Meteor Shower at Asaku. The bunch of small white foxes were attacking with their super adorable paws, which made it even harder for Asaku to defend.

to be continued～
Google play book search 『ASAKU X Dragon life』

My kids are supposed to go to bed at 9:30pm every night. But, they never do. Even if they go into their bedroom by that time, which is rare, they will be chatting or playing till they are too tired before they finally fall asleep.

We made an impromptu decision to dance tonight when they should be sleeping and ended up doing it for over half an hour because it was just so, so fun! #真不知道这个妈妈在想什么 #toostressedfromsoloparenting

Yup, it's been a while since I posted a video of our dancing so here it is. Swipe to the end for a surprise ending but be warned that their laughter is quite loud! I had no idea what we were dancing half the time yet when I looked back, it was plain to see everyone was happy and that matters most to me.

After the dance, we still read bedtime stories to wind down before finally going to bed. Oh well, I am indeed so terrible at routines yet I think this no-routine lifestyle works best for our family. That said, tomorrow still must wake up early. Haha. But we will.

Happy hump day, everybody!

P.S. They do take a short afternoon nap and so do I, if I can.I find it helps us to recharge before they wake up to do their homework or I start to make dinner. No right or wrong, just whatever works best for you!

P.P.S. Why was Meimei the one who piggybacked Jiejie? Cos' it was a couple dance and the big sister wanted to be the girl so the little sister gallantly said she will dance the boy part. Awwww. She is an awesome little sister for sure.

#ahappymum #ahappymumdances #mumandkids #soloparenting #Iwannabeafunmum #welovetodance #dancelikenooneiswatching #justhavefun #justdance #mykidssleepverylate #andsodoI

今日は、皆さんからたくさんのリクエストをいただいた「スパークル」を英語で歌いました♪

この曲は、ピアノが活躍している曲なので、普段はしないのですが、打ち込みでピアノを入れてみました。とてもいい感じになったと思います！

気に入っていただけると嬉しいです!(^_-)-☆

I got a lot of requests for more songs from the movie "Your Name," so today I present

the English version of "Sparkle"! This song didn't feel right without the beautiful piano melody in the background, so rather than just playing guitar like usual, I decided to add the piano electronically (since I can't actually play piano...).

I hope you enjoy the English cover :)

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曲情報 / SONG INFO
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RADWIMPS / スパークル (2016)
アルバム：『君の名は。』サウンドトラック
作詞曲：野田洋次郎
英語詞：渡辺レベッカ

RADWIMPS / Sparkle (2016)
Album: "Your Name" Soundtrack
Music/Lyrics: Yojiro Noda
English Lyrics: Rebecca Butler Watanabe

※サムネイル/Thumbnail:
© kuzma / 123RF Stock Photo

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リンク / LINKS
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■HP⇒ http://BlueEyedUtaUtai.jimdo.com
■Facebook⇒ http://facebook.com/blueeyedutautai
■Twitter⇒ @BlueEyedUtaUtai

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歌詞 / LYRICS
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Caught in a never-ending game
Seems like the world is still trying to tame me
But I go on my chosen way
Beautifully struggling everyday

With both of our hourglasses low
I want to kiss you ‘til the sand’s finishing flowing
Come on, let’s make a plan to meet somewhere that’s
As far from “goodbye” as we can go

Oh, how I hated that lifeless world
Made up of entirely of dictionary words that
I saw through my kaleidoscope
On a monotonous August morn

When you appeared in front of me
You acted shy at times, and others you’d be cool
Smiling a textbook smile at me
To mask your pain so perfectly

Finally now the time has tolled
Everything up ‘til yesterday was a prologue
You can just skim through the days of old
It’s my turn to bear the load

With my experience and skill
And all the courage I had let start to mildew
At an unprecedented speed I will
Dive after you into waters unstill

And when I dozed off into a lukewarm can of soda I
Dreamed of a world so far from here, a different time
Waiting outside of the classroom window
One summer morning aboard a train that swayed me to and fro

Oh, in the way that you loved
I swear I could smell that scent of yours
And in the way that you walked
I could hear that bright laughter of yours

And I know that one day you’ll disappear
So I’ll keep each part of you
Burned into the back of my eyes so you’re always here
It’s not a right that I’m due
No, darling, it’s my duty to you

We’ll fall in love in a timeless land
Where no matter how far we extend our hands
Words like “tomorrow” or “future” or “fate”
Lie far out of reach for as long as we stay

As we look sideways at the hands of the clock
They’ll look right back at us as they tick and tock
How I hope to have forever to spend
This life, no – all future lives
Right here in this world with you