關於 begging the question ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

轉載Chenchen Chen fb
🛠《大家來找碴welcome strict proofreader 》

看到Christopher Chen附在獨立觀察的連結，披露日本記者黑木亮著手調查東京知事小池百合子的埃及開羅大學學歴史，所以整理了文章一半的中英對照如下，另外一半預期周末整理好再另外貼新版。

大家可以比較東京知事和她的大貴人(埃及前副首相Dr Hatem)如何促使她主張她1976年確從埃及開羅大學畢業的做法。台灣媒體不敢報導此日本疑似假學歷的新聞，倒是刷了很多東京知事抗疫好棒棒的中文報導－想必是要洗嬰粉的腦「會做事就好了，學歷有什麼重要」哈哈😄⋯⋯

✳️原文連結： https://jbpress.ismedia.jp/articles/-/60643

🔥偽造大學學位的指控困擾東京都知事小池百合子（Vol.4）
Allegations of fake university degree haunt Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike (vol.4)

💥自從現任東京都知事小池百合子（Yuriko Koike）於1992年成為國會議員以來，一直有謠言流傳稱，小池百合子（Koike）文飾美化她的學歷。
Ever since the incumbent Governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike became a Member of Parliament in 1992, rumors have been circulating that Koike embellished her academic credentials.

小池聲稱自己曾自開羅大學畢業，但是如果以阿拉伯語為母語的人去聽她的阿拉伯語，那麼她公開身為開羅大學畢業生的學歷，似乎就顯得更加可疑了。
Koike claims to have graduated from Cairo University but if an Arabic speaker listens to her Arabic, her published academic credentials as a Cairo University graduate seems more than dubious.

[我有]強有力的證據可以證明她偽造學歷，例如由室友提供的證詞－有紀錄片可查的證詞；小池的自相矛盾的說法表明，儘管第一年不及格，她仍然在四年之內畢業，她的初階程度阿拉伯語，以及關於畢業論文的謊言，和她拒絕向東京都議會提交畢業文件的頑強行為。
There are strong evidence about her fake academic credentials such as testimony by the flatmate supported by documentary evidence, Koike's self-contradictory statement in her book to have graduated in four years despite failing her first year, her rudimentary Arabic, her lie about the graduation thesis and her stubbornness in refusing to submit her graduation documents to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.

身為一個通曉阿拉伯語並從埃及大學（開羅美國大學的中東研究專業）畢業的人，我自有一種任務感，因此我決定對這些指控進行調查。 經過兩年的調查，我找不到任何證據，甚至沒有一絲一毫的最低線索，可以證明小池是從開羅大學畢業的。
Feeling a sense of duty as someone who learnt Arabic and graduated from an Egyptian university (MA, Middle East Studies from the American University in Cairo), I decided to investigate the allegations. After two years of investigation, I could not find any evidence, nor even the slightest hint that Koike graduated from Cairo University.

在這個共由六大部組成的文章中，我詳細介紹了我的調查結果。這裡是第四部的內容：
In this six-part article, I present the results of my investigation in detail.Here is the fourth part of it;

💥小池有符合[埃及大學]轉學資格嗎？
Was Koike eligible to transfer?

"小池在她的書中和其他地方聲稱，她於1972年10月開學以一年級（新鮮人）生身分進入開羅大學。
Koike claims in her books and other places that she entered Cairo University as a first year student (freshman) in October 1972.

但是，她室友在＂假簡歷”紀錄片中說：“小池是於1973年10月以二年級學生身分進入開羅大學。
However, in the ""Fake CV"" the flatmate says, ""Koike entered Cairo University in October 1973 as a second year student.

「小池高興地對我說：“我父親先請當時的哈特姆博士，當時也是埃及副首相，還兼任文化和信息部長，依據我在關西學院大學－是一間日本兵庫縣的私立大學－所上課的幾個月[學程]，加上另外在開羅美國大學的上語言課程的幾個月，一起調整合併當成是我在開羅大學就讀的第一學年[學程時間]。」
Koike happily told me ‘My father asked Dr. Hatem, then Egypt's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and Information, to swap my few months at Kwansei Gakuin University, a private university in Hyogo prefecture, and a few months at the language course at the American University in Cairo for the first year at Cairo University. ‘

「哈特姆博士接受了這一要求。此外，我的學雜費和申請費全免除了。 」
‘Dr. Hatem accepted the request. In addition, my tuition and admission fees have been waived’ .

這顯然是寫在室友1972年11月19日給她在日本母親的信中的。根據“假簡歷”該部分陳述的內容，她(室友)大部分信都附有信件日期和郵戳。 如果是這樣，他們這些人都將會被埃及法院起訴。
This is apparently written in the flatmate’s letter to her mother in Japan dated 19 November 1972. According to the ""Fake CV"" most of her letters were dated and postmarked. If so, they will be admissible to court."

呈現在“假簡歷”的內容中，含當時也正在埃及另一所大學就讀的另一名日本女性，她說，她對小池當時可以轉入開羅大學二年級就讀感到驚訝。 我(作者：黑木亮)所採訪過的另一位開羅大學的日本畢業生也記得：小池當年是[直接]轉入開羅大學二年級。
In the ""Fake CV"" another Japanese woman who was attending another university in Egypt at the time says she was surprised that Koike had transferred in the second year at Cairo University. Another Japanese graduate of Cairo University whom I interviewed also remembered that Koike had transferred to the second year."

然而，轉學到包括開羅大學在內的埃及國立大學訂有嚴格的規定。為了進行轉學，學生必須在另一所大學獲得與埃及國立大學課程相同或相似的內容和學習時數的學分，並且必須獲得一定程度的成績。 開羅大學轉學中心辦公室向我證實了這一點。
However, strict rules are in place to transfer to Egypt's state universities, including Cairo University. In order to transfer, a student must have earned credits at another university with the same or similar content and number of hours as the Egyptian state university’s curriculum and must have earned a certain number of grades. This was confirmed to me by the Central Transfers Office of Cairo University.

例如，在2016-17學年，如果學生希望：
－轉學到工程或醫學學院，則必須從其他大學獲得至少imtiyaaz（優秀）成績。
－轉學實務研究學院，則必須從其他大學獲得至少jaiid jiddab(非常好)的成績。
－轉學理論學習研究學院，則必須從其他大學獲得至少jaiid (好)的成績。
In the case of the 2016-17 academic year, for example, students are required to have at least imtiyaaz (excellent) grade from other university if the student wishes to transfer to the Faculty of Engineering or Medicine and at least jaiid jiddan (very good) grade in the case of faculties of practical study and at least jaiid (good) grade for those of theoretical study.

前面如曾經提到的記者，達莉亞·施貝爾（Dalia Shibel）這樣告訴我：“在埃及，國立大學和私立大學是兩個完全不同的系統。即使您在開羅的美國大學學習了10年並獲得了必要的學分，您還是必須從開羅(國立)大學的一年級學生重新開始。這是我國的法律”。 因此，像小池這樣沒有在另一所大學讀完一年（也沒有獲得任何學分）的人是完全不可能被核准轉學的。
The aforementioned journalist Dalia Shibel told me that ""In Egypt state universities and private universities are two completely different systems. Even if you study at the American University in Cairo for 10 years obtaining necessary credits, you have to start as a first year student in Cairo University. This is the law of our country"". Therefore it is totally impossible that a person like Koike who has not finished a year at another university (and has not earned any credits) would be allowed to transfer."

小池最多只在關西學院大學學習了幾個月。 她在開羅的美國大學CASA那裡學習阿拉伯語只是一所語言學校，不提供任何學分或學位。 如果像一些日本人指出的那樣，小池真果真是在1973年轉入開羅大學第二年級的話，那不過是欺詐性的轉學而已。 這意味著她從一開始就沒有資格畢業。
Koike only attended Kwansei Gakuin University for several months at most. CASA at the American University in Cairo where she learnt Arabic is just a language school and does not offer any credits or degrees. If, as some Japanese people point out, Koike actually transferred to the second year at Cairo University in 1973, that is nothing but a fraudulent transfer. That means she was not eligible for graduation from the beginning.

💥關於小池入學許可的問題並沒有得到答案
No answer to the question about Koike’s admittance

2019年，有51人因以慈善機構樂捐名義為幌子，賄賂美國一個組織而受到起訴，該組織通過提升名人和其他人的孩子的SAT（大學才能測驗）分數，以欺詐手段允許他們的子女因此能夠進入著名的大學。
In 2019, 51 people were prosecuted in the United States for paying bribes under the guise of charity to an organization that allows celebrities and others to increase their children's SAT (college aptitude test) scores and fraudulently admit them to prestigious universities.

其中一位女演員費利西蒂·霍夫曼（Felicity Huffman）曾出演電視劇《欲望師奶(台灣翻譯)》，被判處14天監禁，並於去年10月在加利福尼亞州的女性監獄中被監禁。 霍夫曼的女兒索菲亞（Sophia）尚未上大學，據報導他將重考SAT。
One of them, actress Felicity Huffman, who starred in the TV drama Desperate Housewives, was sentenced to 14 days in prison and was incarcerated last October in a women's prison in California. Huffman's daughter Sophia has not enrolled in college and is reported to be retaking the SAT.

斯坦福大學以’非合法入學申請’為由，開除一名中國學生，原因在於他的父母為了可以濫用體育贊助(入學)名額，使他得以註冊該校學習課程，向該(同一)組織支付了650萬美元。
Stanford University expelled a Chinese student, whose parents paid $6.5 million to the organization for misusing a sports endorsement slot to enroll in the program, citing irregularities in submissions.

由於小池似乎未達到轉學入埃及國立大學的要求，因此我致信小池，詢問小池是在1972年還是1973年被錄取，但未得到任何答复（有關我詢問的信件內容，以及小池回應的所有完整文件，將在此報告的稍後部分中顯示）。
As Koike does not appear to have fulfilled the requirements for transferring to a state university in Egypt, I sent a letter to Koike, to ask whether she was admitted in 1972 or 1973 but received no response (the full text of my questions to and response from Koike will appear later in this report).

開羅大學是阿拉伯世界著名的大學之一，醫學，工程學，經濟和政治學係有許多優秀的埃及學生。 但是，該校在全球地位並不是很高。
Cairo University is one of the prominent universities in the Arab world and there are many excellent Egyptian students in the Faculties of Medicine, Engineering, and Economics and Political Science. However, its global standing is not very high.

在英國Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd.發布的2020年QS世界大學排名中，開羅大學在全球排名521-530，在埃及排名第二，與日本的熊本大學和長崎大學相當。 埃及最好的大學是開羅的美國大學（私立和美國認可大學），在世界上排名第395（與日本神戶大學並列）。 埃及排名第三的是艾因沙姆斯大學，亞歷山大大學和阿修特大學（所有國立大學），在世界範圍內排名第801-1000。
In the 2020 edition of the QS World University Rankings published by Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd. in the United Kingdom, Cairo University ranks 521-530 in the world and second in Egypt, on par with Kumamoto University and Nagasaki University in Japan. The best university in Egypt is the American University in Cairo (private and American-accredit university) which ranks 395th in the world (tied with Kobe University in Japan). Third place in Egypt are Ain Shams University, Alexandria University, and Assiut University (all state universities) which rank 801-1000th in the world.

💥小池與Abdel-Kader Hatem博士的關係
Koike’s Connections with Dr. Abdel-Kader Hatem

協助小池進行了“可能是欺詐性轉學＂的埃及政客的名字出現在“假經歷”這部分的內容中。 這個室友證明，小池在1973年通過著名的埃及政治家阿卜杜勒·卡德爾·哈特姆博士的關係轉入開羅大學二年級。
The name of an Egyptian politician who assisted Koike's possible ""fraudulent transfer"" appears in the ""Fake CV"". The flatmate testifies that Koike transferred to the second grade at Cairo University in 1973 through the connections of Dr. Abdel- Kader Hatem, a prominent Egyptian politician."

Hatem於1917年生於亞歷山大。他畢業於軍事學院和開羅大學。 他參與了1952年的埃及革命（是一個推翻君主制的政變，次年埃及共和國成立），當時他是在由Gamal Abdel Nasser中校領導的自由軍運動中的一名年輕成員。
Hatem was born in Alexandria in 1917. A graduate of the Military Academy and Cairo University. He participated in the Egyptian revolution in 1952 (a coup to overthrow the monarchy which was followed by the foundation of the republic the following year) as a young member of the Free Officers Movement led by then Lieutenant Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser.

他於1957年成為國民議會議員，總統府副部長，1959年廣播電視國務部長，1962年文化部長，國家指導和旅遊部長，1971年副首相兼文化信息部長 ，曾任全國專業委員會常務理事兼埃及-日本友好協會主席。 他於2015年去世，享年97歲。
He became a member of the National Assembly in 1957, Deputy Minister in the Presidential Office, Minister of State for Radio and Television in 1959, Minister of Culture and Minister of National Guidance and Tourism in 1962, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and Information in 1971, then longtime General Supervisor of the Specialized National Councils and President of the Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Association. He died in 2015 at the age of 97.

1974年2月，當時掌控文化和信息的副首相，哈特姆，以正式外賓的身份訪問了日本，並會見了日本首相田中角榮，副首相三木武夫，並參觀了皇宮與天皇會面。 1982年，他被日本政府授予＂旭日東昇頭等大勳章”。
In February 1974, Hatem, who was then the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Culture and Information visited Japan as an official guest and met Japan’s Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, Deputy Prime Minister Takeo Miki and visited the Imperial Palace to meet the Emperor. In 1982 he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, First Class by the Japanese government.

"在1974年Hatem訪日之際，日本駐埃及大使Tsutomu Wada在1974年2月12日給日本外交大臣的正式電報中寫道：“埃及政治的最新發展，哈特姆副首相的職位（曾擔任首相的代理者）得到了進一步鞏固，正如我經常報導的那樣，埃及副首相在6名媒體記者的陪同下訪問日本，這是非同尋常的，這清楚地表明了哈特姆博士的權力，並表明了他認為這次訪問的重要性。”
On the occasion of Hatem's visit to Japan in 1974 the Japanese Ambassador to Egypt Tsutomu Wada wrote in an official telegram dated 12 February 1974 to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan ""As a result of recent developments in Egyptian politics the position of Deputy Prime Minister Hatem (who had been acting as a substitute for the Prime Minister) has been further strengthened as I have often reported. It is remarkable for an Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister to visit Japan accompanied by 6 media reporters and that clearly shows Dr. Hatem’s power. It also shows how important he thinks this visit is."""

"哈特姆的阿拉伯文傳記《阿卜杜勒·卡德·哈特姆日記-十月戰爭政府首腦》於2016年在開羅出版（由埃及記者易卜拉欣·阿卜杜勒·阿齊茲撰寫）指出，哈特姆與中曾根康弘保持著良好的關係， 自1954年起擔任日本前首相，中曾根將當時的在校學生，小池百合子－他朋友的女兒，介紹給哈特姆，哈特姆照顧小池，小池稱哈特姆為教父，並給了小池零用錢， 每月14埃及鎊。(小池在《長袖和服的金字塔攀登》第250頁上寫道，她每月從埃及政府獲得12英鎊的獎學金）。
🌐Chenchen註：Furisode是日本年輕未婚女性穿著的最正式的和服風格－以長袖為其特色，小池應是以Furisode做為自己的意象代名詞，唯美的描繪她以一介日本年輕嬌嬌女，如何在陌生的中東環境－埃及地，逐步攀登權力金字塔。中東地區非常保守，不但男尊女卑，金字塔也不容許遊客任意攀登，更何況是穿著舉步維艱的長袖正式和服，所以小池以一個浮誇的畫面來增飾自己在埃及留學生活的映象。
The Arabic-language biography of Hatem “The Diary of Abdel-Kader Hatem - Head of the October War Government"" published in Cairo in 2016 (written by an Egyptian journalist Ibrahim Abdel Aziz) states that Hatem had been on good terms with Yasuhiro Nakasone, former Prime Minister of Japan, since 1954 and that Nakasone introduced Yuriko Koike to him, a student at that time, as the daughter of his friend. Hatem took care of Koike. Koike called Hatem a god-father, and he gave Koike an allowance of 14 Egyptian pounds a month (Koike wrote on page 250 of “Furisode Climbing the Pyramid"" that she received a scholarship of 12 pounds a month from the Egyptian government)."

Abdel-Kader Hatem與中曾根康弘
Abdel-Kader Hatem with Yasuhiro Nakasone

"另一方面，小池於1985年出版的書《音譯：Onna女性 no 的Jinmyaku-Zukuri人脈建立 (（我如何以女人的身分經營人脈關係）》指出，她的父親（小池裕郎）很早就認識中曾根。她本人是在小學時代即已見到中曾根，在每個冬天，中曾根都向家人送去了一堆在中曾根選舉區群馬縣產的韭菜，並與他的兄弟一起吃了。
On the other hand Koike's book, ""Onna no Jinmyaku-Zukuri (How I made personal connections as a woman)"" published in 1985 states that her father (Yujiro Koike) had known Nakasone for a long time. She herself first met Nakasone when she was an elementary school student, every winter Nakasone sent her family a bunch of leeks produced in Gunma prefecture, Nakasone’s electoral district, and she ate them with his* brother." 🌐*Chenchen註：應該是She ate them with HER brother.,,

1973年10月6日，埃及爆發了十月戰爭（Yom Kippur War）。 埃及和敘利亞軍隊對部署在蘇伊士運河和戈蘭高地的以色列部隊發動了進攻，試圖奪回1967年六日戰爭（六月戰爭）中以色列佔領的領土。
🌐Chenchen註：這是知名的第四次以阿戰爭，後來引發第一次石油危機，各界認為這是阿拉伯國家在二戰之後，第一次聯手反對西方帝國主義。維基百科：贖罪日戰爭，又稱第四次以阿戰爭、齋月戰爭、十月戰爭...起源於埃及與敘利亞分別攻擊六年前被以色列佔領的西奈半島和戈蘭高地。戰爭的頭一至兩日埃敘聯盟佔了上風，但此後戰況逆轉。至第二周，敘軍退出戈蘭高地。在西奈，以軍在兩軍之間攻擊，越過原來的停火線蘇伊士運河。直到聯合國停火令生效為止，以軍甚至包圍了埃及的主力部隊。 https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E8%B4%96%E7%BD%AA%E6%97%A5%E6%88%B0%E7%88%AD

On 6 October 1973, the October War (Yom Kippur War) broke out in Egypt. Egyptian and Syrian forces launched an attack on Israeli forces deployed in the Suez Canal and Golan Heights in an attempt to recapture territory occupied by Israel in the Six Day War (June War) in 1967.

"為了支持埃及和敘利亞，阿拉伯石油輸出國組織（OAPEC）將石油價格提高了1.4倍，並引發了第一次石油危機。 日本被OAPEC視為“不友好”國家之一，由於採取了削減石油供應的措施，日本遭受了經濟危機。 日本政府派副首相三木武夫和前外交大臣小坂健太郎等人前往沙烏地阿拉伯，埃及和阿爾及利亞，要求這些國家將日本改變為“友好國家”類別（所謂的“石油乞討外交”）。 。
In support of Egypt and Syria, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), raised oil prices by 1.4 times and caused the First Oil Crisis. Japan was considered one of the ""unfriendly"" countries by OAPEC and suffered an economic crisis as a result of measures to cut oil supplies. The Japanese government sent Deputy Prime Minister Takeo Miki and former Foreign Minister Zentaro Kosaka and others to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Algeria to ask those countries to change Japan to a ""friendly country"" category (the so-called ""oil begging diplomacy"")."

(待續...或是直接點原文連結)
https://jbpress.ismedia.jp/articles/-/60643

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』

「當有史以來最嚴重的颱風來臨時，我們只想帶着大量流動性走出颱風，我們想把100%的現金留着去收購企業。」

「在危機下，很多人的反映是被嚇呆了。以航空公司為例，他們不知道該怎麼辦，但他們都在和政府談判，沒有人給沃倫打電話。」

「我認為，早晚經濟將會復甦，那將會是温和的經濟增長。就業水平很可能因為種種原因再也恢復不到疫情發生前的水平，我們永遠也回不到之前的就業率水平了。」

【Charlie Munger最新觀點】

Charlie Munger: ‘The Phone Is Not Ringing Off the Hook’

查理·芒格:「我和沃倫的電話沒有響個不停」

Will Berkshire step up now to buy businesses on the same scale?

伯克希爾·哈撒韋會像2008、2009年那樣進行同樣規模收購嗎?

「Well, I would say basically we’re like the captain of a ship when the worst typhoon that’s ever happened comes,」 Mr. Munger told me. 「We just want to get through the typhoon, and we’d rather come out of it with a whole lot of liquidity. We’re not playing, ‘Oh goody, goody, everything’s going to hell, let’s plunge 100% of the reserves [into buying businesses].’」

「嗯，我想説，當有史以來最嚴重的颱風來臨時，我們就像一位船長。」芒格説到，「我們只想逃離颱風，我們寧願帶着大量的流動性衝出去，我們很認真的對待，這不是鬧着玩的。「哦，太好了，一切都要完蛋了，我們想把100%的現金留着去收購企業。」

He added, 「Warren wants to keep Berkshire safe for people who have 90% of their net worth invested in it. We’re always going to be on the safe side. That doesn’t mean we couldn’t do something pretty aggressive or seize some opportunity. But basically we will be fairly conservative. And we’ll emerge on the other side very strong.」

他補充道：「為了那些把90%淨資產都投資於伯克希爾的人，沃倫希望伯克希爾是安全的。我們總是站在安全的這一邊，但這並不意味着我們不能做一些積極的操作或抓住一些機會。基本上，我們是相對保守的，但也會在市場有明確安全預期時進場。」

Surely hordes of corporate executives must be calling Berkshire begging for capital?

肯定有很多公司高管打電話給伯克希爾，想要你們投資吧?

「No, they aren’t,」 said Mr. Munger. 「The typical reaction is that people are frozen. Take the airlines. They don’t know what the hell’s doing. They’re all negotiating with the government, but they’re not calling Warren. They’re frozen. They’ve never seen anything like it. Their playbook does not have this as a possibility.」

「不，他們沒有」，芒格説，「在危機下，人們最典型的反應是，好像都被嚇住了。以航空公司為例，他們不知道該怎麼辦，他們都在和政府談判，沒有人給沃倫打電話。他們的生產活動被凍結了，他們從來沒見過這樣的事，他們也沒想到過這種可能性。」

He repeated for emphasis, 「Everybody’s just frozen. And the phone is not ringing off the hook. Everybody’s just frozen in the position they’re in.」

他重複了一遍，強調説:「所有人好像都被嚇住了，而且我和沃倫的電話也沒有響個不停，每個人好像被困在了原地。」

With Berkshire’s vast holdings in railroads, real estate, utilities, insurance and other industries, Mr. Buffett and Mr. Munger may have more and better data on U.S. economic activity than anyone else, with the possible exception of the Federal Reserve. But Mr. Munger wouldn’t even hazard a guess as to how long the downturn might last or how bad it could get.

伯克希爾在鐵路、房地產、公用事業、保險和其他行業持有大量股份。巴菲特和芒格先生可能比其他人（除了美聯儲以外）有更多、更準確的關於美國經濟的數據。但芒格也不敢猜測經濟低迷會持續多久，或者會變得有多糟糕。

「Nobody in America’s ever seen anything else like this,」 said Mr. Munger. 「This thing is different. Everybody talks as if they know what’s going to happen, and nobody knows what’s going to happen.」

「在美國，從來沒有人見過這樣的事情」，芒格説，「（疫情）與以往任何事情都不同。每個人都説他們知道會發生什麼，但沒有人知道會發生什麼。」

Is another Great Depression possible?

可能會出現另一場大蕭條嗎?

「Of course we’re having a recession,」 said Mr. Munger. 「The only question is how big it’s going to be and how long it’s going to last. I think we do know that this will pass. But how much damage, and how much recession, and how long it will last, nobody knows.」

「當然，我們正在經歷一場衰退，」芒格説，「唯一的問題是它影響範圍有多大，持續時間有多長，但我們確切地知道這件事會過去。而具體會造成多少損失、衰退的程度有多大、會持續多久卻沒有人知道。」

He added, 「I don’t think we’ll have a long-lasting Great Depression. I think government will be so active that we won’t have one like that. But we may have a different kind of a mess. All this money-printing may start bothering us.」

他補充道:「我不認為我們會出現長期的大蕭條，政府會採取積極的舉措避免出現大蕭條。但我們會進入一段混亂的時期，美聯儲的‘印鈔’行為會對我們有所困擾。」

Can the government reduce its role in the economy once the virus is under control?

如果病毒得到控制，政府會降低其在經濟中的干預作用嗎？

「I don’t think we know exactly what the macroeconomic consequences are going to be,」 said Mr. Munger. 「I do think, sooner or later, we’ll have an economy back, which will be a moderate economy. It’s quite possible that never again—not again in a long time—will we have a level of employment again like we just lost. We may never get that back for all practical purposes. I don’t know.」

「我們並不確切地知道會有哪些宏觀經濟的後果，」芒格説，「但我認為，早晚經濟將會復甦，那將會是温和的經濟增長。就業水平很可能再也恢復不到疫情發生前的水平，可能因為種種原因，我們永遠也回不到之前的就業率水平了，我不知道。」

Berkshire won’t escape unscathed. 「This will cause us to shutter some businesses,」 Mr. Munger said. 「We have a few bad businesses that...we could be tolerant of as members of the family. Somebody else would have already shut them down. We’ve got a few businesses, small ones, we won’t reopen when this is over.」

伯克希爾不會毫髮無損，芒格説：「這場危機會使我們關閉一些業務。我們有一些經營不善的生意……作為（伯克希爾）家族企業中的一員，我們可以容忍（它們），但如果是其他企業，則已經被關閉了。我們有一些規模小的企業，關閉後將不會再開業了。」

Mr. Munger told me: 「I don’t have the faintest idea whether the stock market is going to go lower than the old lows or whether it’s not.」 The coronavirus shutdown is 「something we have to live through,」 letting the chips fall where they may, he said. 「What else can you do?」

芒格先生告訴我：「我完全不知道股市會不會創下新低。」他説，因為冠狀病毒帶來的全國隔離是我們必須要做的事情，只能順其自然了。「你還能做什麼呢？」

Investors can take a few small steps to restore a sense of control—by harvesting tax losses, for instance—but, for now, sitting still alongside Mr. Munger seems the wisest course.

投資者目前可以通過小幅的操作來恢復控制感，但是，就目前而言，和芒格先生保持一致似乎是最明智的做法。

144 形式謬誤—邏輯推理上的錯謬

思想錯謬大概分兩大類：形式謬誤與非形式謬誤。非形式謬誤包括歧義謬誤、人身攻擊、稻草人謬誤、丐題（Begging the question）等等。而形式謬誤特指邏輯推論上的錯誤，因此我們首先要認識甚麼是邏輯。日常的形式謬誤主要肯定後項、否定前項的謬誤，另一種是歸謬法（reductio ad absurdum）。

講者：陶國璋（中文大學哲學系客座助理教授）、盧傑雄（中文大學哲學系高級講師）

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