Don't Call Me Master, Call Me Director

"Grandpa, please don't be angry," Aozaki Aoko said with a strained smile, stepping forward to smooth things over while repeatedly signaling to her sister.

Instead of backing down, Touko glanced at her grandfather.

"Why aren't you leaving yet? Didn't you say this isn't a place for dogs to eat?"

Crack.

A table around Touko instantly shattered into splinters.

From the magical energy Shinji sensed, it seemed Aozaki Public had done it.

"Grandpa."

Seeing her grandfather on the verge of exploding, Aoko quickly whispered, "This is the banquet hall, there are outsiders here."

Her words forcefully suppressed Aozaki Public's temper, which was already at the breaking point.

Aozaki Public pointed at the banquet hall doors. "Out. This is no place for a third-rate Mage. You, who are no longer part of the Aozaki family, have no right to be here!"

Touko stopped smoking, her eyes narrowing slightly behind her glasses.

Aozaki Public was angry, and so was she, and it wasn't a small anger.

However, with so many prominent figures from the Japanese Mage circles present, a real scene would only embarrass everyone and be detrimental to her future business dealings.

So, Aozaki Touko could only take a deep breath, suppressing the anger in her heart.

"I am attending this banquet at the invitation of my client. It has nothing to do with you."

Hearing this, Aozaki Public opened his mouth to mock her further, but Touko didn't give him the chance, standing up directly.

"I thought it was some high-class banquet, but it's just this level. I'm leaving, leaving."

With that, Touko waved her hand unceremoniously and left the banquet hall without looking back.

"Grandpa, excuse me for a moment."

Shinji, who had been watching the scene, his eyes flickered, then he decisively followed Touko.

"Go on, go on."

Zouken waved his cane indifferently, seeming to wish Shinji would follow.

As Aozaki Touko left, the atmosphere in the banquet hall became somewhat oppressive.

Aozaki Public stood silently, and others didn't know what to say.

Touko being kicked out of the family home by Aozaki Public was no secret; most people in the Japanese Mage community knew about it.

Knowing it was one thing, but no one present would openly take sides.

This grandfather and granddaughter pair: the grandfather was a Mage of high standing, not to be offended; the granddaughter was a renowned master craftsman of magical artifacts, someone they might need in the future, making her even harder to offend.

Therefore, everyone in the hall kept their distance, not wanting to get involved in the Aozaki family's affairs.

"Grandpa... please don't be angry anymore."

Aozaki Aoko nervously stepped forward to persuade him.

She didn't want to deal with her sister's and grandfather's mess, but she was the only one present who could still talk to Aozaki Public.

"I'm not angry," Aozaki Public said with a sudden smile. "Since she's no longer part of the Aozaki family, why should I be angry?"

Aozaki Aoko forced an awkward smile, feeling some dissatisfaction with her grandfather's high-handedness.

Even if my sister doesn't meet your requirements, why not just let me inherit the family headship? You had to kick her out and sever ties, who are you trying to show this to?

"Alright, I'll introduce you to the young talents of the Japanese Mage world." Aozaki Public snorted heavily and pulled Aoko towards another direction in the banquet hall. "Aoko, you need to be smart and absolutely not associate with those unsavory types."

Aozaki Aoko's mouth twitched, and her smile became even more forced.

Meanwhile, Shinji finally found Touko.

She hadn't left the hotel and was sitting on a sofa in the first-floor lobby.

"You don't mind if I sit next to you, beautiful senpai?"

Although it was a request, Shinji sat down without waiting for Touko's consent.

"Well~ it's my honor to have such a handsome kouhai."

Touko smiled indifferently, not speaking ill of Shinji.

Shinji following her meant he was on her side, which earned him a bit of favor from Touko, who had felt isolated and helpless moments before.

Seeing that Touko actually acknowledged their senpai-kouhai relationship, Shinji raised an eyebrow in surprise.

The term "senpai" was something Shinji deliberately used to close the distance between them.

In reality, Shinji's studies at the Clock Tower were completely different from Touko's, and strictly speaking, they were only fellow alumni.

"I'm truly sorry, kouhai."

Touko extinguished her cigarette in the ashtray, pushed her glasses up to her forehead, leaned back, and said flippantly, "If I had known that old man would be so ungracious, I wouldn't have come. I apologize for disturbing your evening's enjoyment, kouhai."

"It's fine, I've also been annoyed by that old man for a long time." Shinji gave a thumbs-up. "He actually dared to dictate my path of Magecraft."

"Hey, hey, say that to my face, okay? He's my grandfather, after all." Aozaki Touko glared at Shinji reproachfully. "But it's really his style. I was kicked out of the family because of our differing magical philosophies."

"He doesn't even consider you family, so why are you still defending him, senpai?" Shinji asked, shrugging innocently.

Aozaki Touko was silent for a long time, unable to refute Shinji's words.

Beep beep.

The sound of an email broke the quiet atmosphere between the two.

Touko pulled out her phone, glanced at it, and stuffed it back into her clothes, too lazy to even reply.

"It's from my sister. She said she'll arrange a meal with me and Grandpa sometime soon to catch up."

Seeing Shinji's questioning gaze, Touko said dismissively.

"Does your sister have a grudge against that restaurant?" Shinji quipped. "Given the situation between you and your grandfather, aren't you two likely to tear the place down if you meet?"

"Heh, you never know~" Touko chuckled. "Aoko always has these unrealistic, naive ideas."

No, maybe she really does have a grudge against a certain restaurant.

Thinking of the red-haired beauty who secretly gave him a thumbs-up, Shinji felt that she wasn't exactly the type to stay put.

"I think there's over an 80% chance you and Aozaki Public will start arguing again the next time you meet. And once you do, the situation will definitely get worse."

Shinji rested his chin on his hands, looking up at Aozaki Touko.

"I suggest, senpai, that you're best off solving the problem at its root."

Touko felt an inexplicable sense of being targeted under Shinji's intense gaze.

Is this junior trying to make a move on me?

Touko's guess wasn't wrong; Shinji did intend to make a move on her, but not physically.

"Senpai, Aozaki Public's stubbornness is known throughout the world. He absolutely won't listen to you; instead, he'll continue to instill negative impressions of you in those around him. Therefore, the best way is to make it so no one can hear his words anymore."

"Are you saying I should become a Magus and make him shut up forever?" Touko retorted.

Shinji said calmly, "With the current decline of mystery, the possibility of a new Magus appearing is slim. I'm talking about stripping him of his influence in the Mage community."

Touko scoffed, "That's impossible."

Although she didn't particularly like that old man, Touko knew his standing in the Mage community very well.

Even if he wasn't the number one in the world, he was at least undisputed in the Far East.

"Who says it's impossible? If the Mage community undergoes a revolution, if the existing environment is reshuffled, then of course there'll be a chance to sweep those old fossils into the dustbin of history."

As he spoke, Shinji's eyes lit up.

"Senpai, I have a plan..."

Then, Shinji laid out his plan in its entirety.

However, Shinji didn't dwell on his ventures in the film and entertainment industries. Instead, he focused on the changes he would bring to the Mage community—making secular pragmatism the mainstream, squeezing the living space of old fogeys like Aozaki Public, and rendering them incapable of wielding any real power.

At first, Touko dismissed Shinji's plan, thinking her junior was daydreaming. But as she listened, her expression grew serious.

Although Shinji's plan was currently just a concept, if it actually succeeded...

"That sounds pretty exciting."

Touko mused, then suddenly seemed to understand something and tapped Shinji with her finger.

"Junior, you came to talk to me on purpose, didn't you? Trying to drag senpai onto your pirate ship."

"I'm serious," Shinji said with a smile. "I've wanted to invite you for a long time, senpai, but I never had the chance to approach you. This time, it just so happened."

"Is that so..."

Touko fiddled with her cigarette case, her expressionless face lost in thought.

With her own information channels, Touko was aware of what the Matou Family and the Mages of Fuyuki City had been up to lately, and she believed Shinji's plan was genuine.

However, Touko wasn't entirely sure how far Shinji could go, but his plan was indeed enticing.

Whatever, might as well give it a try.

Given Touko's age, she would eventually live to see that old man die and completely turn the tables.

But what was the point of dancing on his grave when it was so much more satisfying to crush him while he was still alive?

Touko knew very well that the thing that would most infuriate her grandfather wasn't destroying him physically, but making the entire Mage community completely reject and ignore him. That would be far more agonizing than killing him.

I bet his enraged, impotent expression at the time will be quite a sight.

Thinking of this, Touko couldn't help but curl her lips.

"Two years."

"Hm?"

Shinji blinked in surprise.

"I'll give you two years. If your plan hasn't shown any progress by then, I'm leaving."

At Touko's current age, two years was a perfectly acceptable amount of time to waste. Plus, she wanted to see how far this ambitious junior could go.

"Of course, no problem."

Shinji immediately nodded in agreement.

If he couldn't achieve anything in two years, it would only prove Shinji was incredibly incompetent.

Let alone Touko, even Nii-san himself would probably find a place to dig a hole and bury himself.

"Also, don't forget to pay me." Touko provocatively smiled at Shinji, "Your senpai here is very expensive."

"I will definitely make sure the compensation satisfies you, senpai."

Shinji truly needed Touko, a highly skilled item craftsman, to join his team.

Originally, this position should have belonged to C-Ma Medea, but a mistake in summoning the Heroic Spirits led to Nii-san and C-Ma perfectly missing each other.

Fortunately, filming FSN didn't require many custom-made magic props, so Shinji managed to get by. However, the next movie might not be so easy.

Touko's addition perfectly filled the vacant position of item craftsman in Shinji's current team.

"Well then, please take care of me from now on, senpai."

"Please take care of me too, kouhai."

Shinji and Touko's hands clasped together.

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After the banquet, Shinji returned to Tokyo to begin the post-production of FSN.

As for Touko, although she agreed to join Shinji's team, she wasn't in a hurry to move to Fuyuki City because she still had some commissions to complete.

Shinji wasn't in a rush on his end; after all, given Touko's character, she definitely wouldn't stand him up after promising something.

FSN's post-production wasn't finished yet, and the plans for the new movie hadn't even progressed to creating a new folder. Even if Touko came, Shinji wouldn't have any work for her.

After confirming that Touko herself would be available in the spring, Shinji focused all his energy on FSN's post-production.

Before attending the banquet, Shinji had already completed the rough cut of the film, but this was only the first step in the long post-production process.

The subsequent steps included fine-cutting, voice acting, selecting the music, and then sound editing... all of which would consume a significant amount of time and effort.