Medusa-Gorgon on the Road: Safe and Fast, Every Trip

"Aren't they the four great demon-slaying families?" Shinji scoffed. "I remember the four great families all declined, didn't they?"

"The other three families are, of course, but the Ryougi Family isn't," Zouken explained. "They've only partially withdrawn from the Magecraft world."

Based on Zouken's explanation and Shinji's own knowledge, Second Master had a general understanding of the Ryougi Family's situation.

Because of their mysterious decline, the four great Japan exorcism families collapsed even earlier than Nasu's original plan.

However, the Ryougi Family among the four families was more pragmatic and switched to business after discovering the mysterious decline.

Leveraging their connections with Magecraft and their prominent family status among ordinary people, the Ryougi Family moves between these two circles, handling business matters for other Mage Families.

They act as intermediaries between Magecraft and ordinary people, and also as front men for many Mage Families.

Thanks to this strategy, although the Ryougi Family completely declined in the Magecraft, they became increasingly successful in business, and even annexed the businesses of the other three demon-slaying families.

Furthermore, due to their business dealings with several Mage Families, the Ryougi Family left their original home in Kanabuchi City early on and settled in Kyoto.

"So what does this have to do with me having to accept Shiki as my assistant?" Shinji asked the question that concerned him the most.

The other party's intentions were too obvious, making him suspicious.

"Actually... after you returned from abroad, this family took the initiative to propose marriage to you, but I stopped them. Because you said that you wanted to make your own decisions about your marriage, I didn't agree to their request."

Zouken explained the whole story succinctly, "Actually... I think they've taken a liking to your Magecraft talent and hope to use you to make a comeback in the Mage world. After all, who would want to give up something they've been exposed Magecraft?"

"..."

Shinji felt a stomachache; he didn't know whether he should be thankful that his grandfather didn't know about his relationship with Chloe.

"Judging from the situation, this family probably still hopes to arrange a marriage between you and their child. After all... the established Mage Families look down on them because they're not considered a proper Mage Families, while they've set their sights on the emerging families. In comparison, you're a rather ideal marriage partner."

Zouken was well aware of that family's intentions; as the head of the Matou Family decades, the old man was a shrewd and calculating person.

"What I mean is, there's no harm in getting to know that girl better. The Ryougi Family has quite a few high-quality Ley Lines, so even in a normal collaboration, both families have something to discuss."

"I see."

Shinji strange expression.

"Speaking of which, the Ryougi Family is really rich; they have quite a few related businesses," Zouken said with a smile. "If you marry that young girl, you'll never have to worry about money for the rest of your life."

"Tsk tsk, Grandpa. Don't test me with this, I can't withstand the test," Shinji replied jokingly.

"Hmm? You brat, how come you couldn't withstand this test?"

Although Zouken could tell that his grandson was joking, he also sensed a degree of sincerity in his words.

This puzzled Zouken, as his grandson had been well-behaved ever since returning from abroad.

While it wouldn't be accurate to say he's completely abstaining from women, he's certainly never been involved in any scandals with any woman.

How come after keeping myself so chaste for so many years, I couldn't hold back anymore when I met someone in a kimono today?

"Grandpa, I'm Magecraft, after all..."

Shinji and said wistfully, "Isn't it said that entering the Root can make Magus? I'm really afraid I won't be able to resist the temptation and try it..."

"What nonsense are you spouting, you brat?"

Zouken had never read "Kara no Kyoukai," was completely confused.

Chapter 158 Medusa: Gorgon Travel, Safe and Fast Every Journey

Shinji was obviously joking when he mentioned entering the Root and becoming Magus.

The idea of reaching the Root through entering and exiting the Ryougi Shiki is just a joke; anyone who actually does that is an idiot.

Not to mention that Ryougi Shiki in this world has never received the Ryougi Family's multiple personality training, so whether she can still connect to the Root is completely unknown.

Shinji didn't have much of a reaction to the fact that Shiki was going to become his assistant.

In the Second Master's opinion, it was simply impossible for the delicate young lady to handle the complicated and trivial work of an assistant. It would probably be less than Ryougi Shiki months before Ryougi Shiki started complaining about wanting to leave.

Shinji's task is to avoid offending the young lady of the Ryougi Family during this period. Once she has experienced the hardships of ordinary people, she will naturally leave.

After attending the year-end banquet, Shinji had the illusion that the year-end work was over and he could start preparing for the New Year.

It was indeed an illusion, but Shinji's body couldn't stop his brain from protesting that it needed a rest.

Anyway, the post-production work for <Super 8> is already 80% complete. No matter how much delays there are after the Chinese New Year, it will definitely be sent to China for review in April.

Adhering to the working-class tradition of slacking off as much as possible until the deadline, Shinji decided to give himself an early vacation this year.

However, even though he said he was taking a break, Shinji couldn't possibly lie at home doing nothing all day.

Shinji planned to take advantage of this rare opportunity to visit various film sets and fulfill his duties as a producer.

Despite having Second Master name credited in the film crew shooting in Fuyuki City, Shinji never actually visited the film set.

Shinji figured that the film set in Fuyuki City was so big, with so many film crews, that if he spent half a day there every morning and then casually slacked off at the company in the afternoon, he could get through the day's work.

Of course, there are differences between different film crews.

For those film crews that he "adopted," Shinji would simply visit them to take a look. But for the film crews that he "own," Shinji not only had to understand the filming progress but also the current situation of the crew and offer relevant suggestions.

Shinji was most interested in the Ultraseven X crew. Not only did Shinji learn a great deal about the crew while visiting it, but he also called the Director, screenwriter, and technical consultant over to give them detailed instructions after the tour.

Shinji originally intended to have Director from Tsuburaya Productions direct <Ultraseven X>, but unfortunately, none of the Director could satisfy him.

Having grown accustomed to the filming style of Japanese tokusatsu movies, Shinji always felt that the set design and storyboards of these Director were rather small-scale.

So Shinji Chloe to look for a suitable candidate in North America.

And sure enough, Miss Lizzie actually found a Director that satisfied Shinji —Dennis Villeneuve.

Although this Director is not well-known in the film industry at present, he was a unique figure in Hollywood before Shinji's time travel.

Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, Dune... Denis Villeneuve's excellent science fiction films all demonstrate his outstanding artistic aesthetics.

In particular, Blade Runner 2049, a cyberpunk film that was just as good as the first one, left a deep impression on Shinji, which was the most important reason why he ultimately decided to sign the film.

Although Denis Villeneuve's overly strong personal aesthetic has largely prevented his films from achieving high box office returns, Shinji to make <Ultraseven X> was not primarily for box office success.

Compared to an 8-point movie that can make a lot of money, Shinji needs a well-made 10-point movie.

Even if Ultraseven X can't be accepted by today's academic gurus, it doesn't matter, as long as the core movie fans think the movie is good.

When those kids who watched Ultraseven X grow up and become leaders in the film industry, will they still lack a voice?

"Dennis, you need to pay more attention to this movie."

On set, Shinji instructed, "Especially the set design; you must make the audience feel that this world truly exists."

"I know, Producer Matou."

Denis Villeneuve nodded, keeping Shinji's request in mind.

Denis Villeneuve was very grateful for Shinji's mentorship.

Despite winning Best Director at the 20th Canadian Genie Awards in 2000 for "Vortex"...

But the Academy Awards, North America's biggest film award, are nothing special on a global scale, so who cares about Canadian awards?

Without Shinji Matou, he would probably only be able to build a reputation in the North American film industry through various low-budget independent films; where would he have gotten the chance to pull off such a big heist?

Shinji Matou said that the box office performance of this movie doesn't need to be a concern; he just needs to make it the way he envisions it.

This made Denis Villeneuve exclaim "The boss is so generous!" and he worked even harder to study the script for <Ultraseven X>.

The more Denis Villeneuve studied the script, the more he felt it suited him.

A future world with highly developed material civilization but extremely poor spiritual civilization and a huge gap between the rich and the poor—just imagining it gives rise to many stories that could be made into films.

"It's a pity that with only one movie runtime, many interesting things can't be covered in detail," Denis Villeneuve lamented.

Shinji glanced at him and said, "If <Ultraseven X> can win the three major European awards, I'll invest in making a TV series so you can tell this story to your heart's content."

"Real?"

Denis Villeneuve could hardly believe it.

"Of course, do your best."

Shinji patted Denis Villeneuve on the shoulder, encouraging him.

After Denis Villeneuve left in high spirits, Shinji turned to Medea.

"Well, he didn't spot any flaws, did he?"

This Great Director is talented, but he is not Magecraft himself, Medea had to cover up some of the Magecraft- related things on set.

"No problem." Medea smiled slightly. "I've put most of the Magecraft- related work before and after filming. If it's absolutely necessary to use magic during filming, I've just used new technology to get by."

Shinji's decision to have an ordinary Director direct <Ultraseven X> was also an experiment.

As the business expands, it's impossible to exclude ordinary people who don't understand Magecraft forever. How to ensure harmonious coexistence between Magecraft and ordinary people in the production team is also a challenge for <Ultraseven X>.

"This guy is smart; he doesn't care about the technical principles, as long as he gets the effect he needs."

It's clear that Medea is very satisfied with Denis Villeneuve.

"Just be careful. If he does find out something, it's okay. We can just confront him and explain."

Although it's an ironclad rule in the Mage world that ordinary people shouldn't know about the mysterious, the extent to which this rule is enforced is always questionable.

Even in the story of the Nasu, there are countless examples of ordinary people who know about Magecraft, let alone in this mysterious and declining world.

As long as Magecraft doesn't spread widely, the Mage world has always turned a blind eye.

It would be best if Denis Villeneuve didn't know about Magecraft, but even if he did, it wouldn't matter; just explain things clearly and then have someone keep an eye on him.

In any case, Denis Villeneuve was a test in himself, and whether he knew it or not, Shinji had already prepared a countermeasure.

After the discussion, Shinji instructed Cú Chulainn to give 200% of his Acting Skills and guarantee a good performance in the film before leaving the crew.

On the way back, Shinji stopped by the shopping street and bought some gifts for Artoria and Sakura.

He bought two large bags of snacks for Artoria and several exquisite handmade ornaments for Sakura.

Because Shinji has been being too sarcastic lately, the Matou Family is in turmoil, Shinji is going to try to please the two of them.

Hopefully, they'll behave themselves during the New Year period after receiving the gifts.

Looking at the scenery outside the car window, Shinji thought to himself.

"Master, someone from the company was looking for you while you were buying things."

Medusa, who was acting as Shinji's driver, suddenly spoke.

"What is it?"

Shinji leaned back comfortably in the back seat and asked with a contented expression.

The work at the company had already been assigned, Shinji didn't think anything major could happen.

"Yan Qing called and said a girl came to the company today to report for duty, saying she wants to be your intern assistant," Medusa replied.

"Internship Assistant? Sister Shi?!"

Shinji immediately sat up straight.

"Has the Ryougi Family gone mad? Are they really that impatient?"

Shinji originally thought that no matter how anxious the Ryougi Family was, they would not send the person until after the New Year, but he did not expect Shinji to be so fast!

"Wait!" Shinji suddenly remembered something and asked nervously, "Who's in the company today?"

How would I know?

Medusa rolled her eyes and said helplessly.

Shinji then realized he had asked the wrong person. He called Little Yi Ge, who was still at the company. "Yan Qing, that new guy..."

"Oh~ Master, you mean that Ryougi-san?"

Yan Qing's voice was quite amused. "She's having a great chat with King of Knights right now. Secretary Farnese is also there."

"Just the two of them?"

Shinji raises an eyebrow.

"Everyone's here... Oh, right, Miss Flora's here too. She's been staring at that Ryougi-san the whole time. Hehehe~~"

Yan Qing's words were full of malice.

So you bunch of unscrupulous Heroic Spirit just stood by and watched this monkey show?!