Every Last One of You Has a Special Skill

Back when Shinji and Rin had studied basic magecraft under him, Tokiomi had even gotten the illusion that he'd gained another son.

But compared to Rin, who was exceptionally gifted and diligent in her studies, Shinji had even more talent for magecraft than she did, yet his attitude toward learning it was halfhearted and careless. Once he had a general grasp of a spell, he usually refused to keep refining it.

In Tokiomi Tohsaka's eyes, if Rin was the steady, hardworking eldest daughter and heir of the family, then Shinji was definitely the layabout youngest son who was nevertheless doted on.

"Ah."

In the reception room, Tokiomi Tohsaka let out a long sigh.

"If Shinji were willing to put in the effort in the field of magecraft, he might well surpass everyone of his generation and become a leading figure in Japan's mage world. What a pity."

Speaking to his old friend, Risei Kotomine, Tokiomi voiced his thoughts without reservation.

"The Matou Family, which has been in decline for some time, finally produced a genius magus. I'd thought Shinji and Rin could marry, bringing the Matou and Tohsaka families closer."

At that, Tokiomi's expression darkened.

"But I never expected Shinji to indulge in beauty and desire at such a young age. He's absolutely not a man I could entrust my daughter's life to!"

Hearing Tokiomi bring up the idea of Rin and Shinji marrying, Risei Kotomine, seated beside him, also looked displeased.

Shinji's "track record" at the Clock Tower had been so impressive that both of them had heard about it.

Though the stories had been exaggerated as they passed from person to person, it was certainly true that Shinji had maintained improper "parallel jogging" relationships with several women at the Clock Tower.

"I used to think about entrusting Caren to Shinji, too, but..."

Risei and Tokiomi exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes.

Ah, if only that brat would show a little restraint when it came to women.

Risei Kotomine gloomily took a sip of strong tea.

"Forget it. We can't force things between the younger generation," Tokiomi said, consoling himself. "Rin is already more than capable. I'm sure she'll help the Tohsaka family flourish in the future."

Thinking of his outstanding daughter, a faint smile appeared on Tokiomi's calm face.

"Don't worry. Shinji will lend a hand," Risei teased. "The boy's a bit of a rascal, but he's got a good heart. Since he and Rin are friends, he'll surely help her."

Meanwhile.

"Achoo!"

Shinji suddenly let out a huge sneeze as he walked out of the Tohsaka Residence.

"Damn, which beauty's talking about me behind my back?"

He rubbed his nose with a finger and muttered to himself.

Naturally, Shinji had already left and hadn't heard the two elders' assessment of him. If he had, he definitely would've scoffed at them.

Because "marrying Tohsaka Rin" had never once been an option in Master Shinji's mind.

Rin was too lively and independent; she wasn't his type at all. Compared to a woman like Rin, who might grow up to be a pirate captain, Shinji would much rather have a wife of the traditional Yamato Nadeshiko type.

In terms of looks, Tohsaka Rin was certainly among the best. If the Matou and Tohsaka families weren't so close, Shinji might've tried to woo her.

Unfortunately, her status as the future head of the Tohsaka family ruled out the "break up after hooking up" option.

So it was better to stay friends.

No matter how pretty Tohsaka Rin was, she wasn't beautiful enough to make Second Master give up an entire forest for one tree.

It had to be said: in every Parallel world, Tokiomi Tohsaka always saw things from his own perspective and indulged in wishful thinking.

The following evening, the FSN Film Crew gathered outside the Fuyuki City movie theater right on time.

"I still can't believe a city the size of Fuyuki only has one movie theater!"

As he waited for the others to arrive outside the theater, Shinji quietly complained to Shirou.

"Isn't that normal? This isn't Tokyo. Why would they need so many movie theaters?"

Shirou had long since accepted that Japan had fewer than four hundred movie theaters, so he thought Shinji was the one being unreasonable.

"I can't talk to you."

Shinji rolled his eyes. For Second Master, who'd once had four movie theaters near his home in his previous life, he and Shirou clearly had nothing in common on this subject.

"Shinji."

Just then, Kariya walked over.

He grabbed Shinji by the shoulder and said, "The day before yesterday, I contacted the Flora Family at the Jidai Group..."

Shinji's heart leaped. He asked nervously, "They didn't agree to work with us, did they?"

"They didn't agree outright..."

"Good! Shirou, let's go over there. Rin and the others are here."

Shinji forcibly cut Kariya off, then led Shirou over to the Tohsaka family group, leaving Kariya behind.

"What's wrong with him? I hadn't even told him the Flora Family was already in contact with the El-Melloi Family."

Kariya might've been a bit slow, but he wasn't stupid. Shinji's attitude toward the Flora Family was clearly odd.

"I hope Shinji didn't do something to offend the Flora Family. They're a lot more powerful than the Matou Family."

Watching Shinji in the distance, Kariya rubbed his temples in frustration.

Shinji, meanwhile, didn't notice his uncle's conflicted expression. Once nearly everyone from the film crew had arrived, he gathered them outside the theater for a commemorative photo.

There was no chance of a premiere or anything like that. Bandai's plans for releasing FSN were far too conservative to spend money on something of the sort.

Even this Fuyuki City screening had only been added because Shinji had asked Bandai for it specially.

So, wanting a memento, Shinji had to organize the commemorative photo himself.

"How shabby," Gilgamesh said, sounding somewhat displeased. "Why are the film crew and ordinary audience members being put together?"

"It's not bad. This was only added at the last minute," Shinji reassured him quietly. "Once we make it big, I'll arrange a private screening just for you and Enkidu..."

"Hmm..."

Gilgamesh furrowed his brows. His flushed face showed how conflicted he was. He seemed torn between having Enkidu see him make a fool of himself and showing off his big-screen debut to his friend.

"Boring!"

Gilgamesh snorted loudly, then strode into the screening room.

Left behind, Shinji smiled like a little fox.

Just then, Artoria came over.

"Hey, Master. Will there be any special snacks at a private screening?"

Master Shinji looked at Artoria's eager expression, then at the enormous bucket of popcorn in her hands, already a third empty, and didn't know what to say.

Britain had really had it rough, managing to feed Artoria for so many years without going bankrupt.

Shinji silently grumbled to himself.

Chapter 21: Every Last One of You Has a Special Skill

As he entered the theater, Shinji couldn't help grumbling again about how outdated movie equipment in Japan was.

The only movie theater in Fuyuki City had just five screening rooms, and four of them were tiny, with fewer than a hundred seats each.

The screening room showing FSN was the largest one in the whole theater, but even it had only around three hundred seats.

To avoid disturbing the moviegoers, Shinji had arranged for the film crew and his invited guests to sit toward the back of the theater. That way, the first few rows were left for the audience members who'd won screening tickets.

The Fuyuki City test screening was very bare-bones. Apart from the film crew and moviegoers, there were only a few staff members assigned by Bandai to record audience reactions.

For the Tokyo screening, Bandai had also invited a few entertainment newspaper reporters. Most of them, however, were from small and regional outlets. Major newspapers like Kinema Junpo and Kinema Junpo wouldn't attend a test screening for an unknown movie like this.

As for film critics, after what had happened at the Toho screening, and given that they already looked down on tokusatsu movies, Bandai had simply given up on inviting any as a publicity move.

Even if Bandai had invited them, those critics probably wouldn't have been very interested. Bandai's promotional strategy for FSN was fairly conservative, and the fees they offered weren't enough to attract those greedy types.

Shinji was actually glad about that. Those arrogant old critics didn't like FSN anyway, so they could spare themselves the ordeal of watching his movie.

More than those old fossils who loved to nitpick, Shinji cared about the reactions of the moviegoers in attendance.

Apart from the film crew and invited guests, nearly 230 ordinary moviegoers had been invited to the Fuyuki City screening. They were between fifteen and forty-five years old, with older people making up a smaller proportion of the audience.

The age breakdown was about the same at the other test screenings.

Shinji had chosen the audience's age range based on the moviegoing demographics from his previous life. It covered almost the entire age range of FSN's potential fans.

"It'll start in five minutes."

Seated in his chair, Shinji shifted in place. He looked back at the Heroic Spirits from his crew and warned them not to act up during the screening.

"You lot, don't make a scene in the theater! Otherwise, when we get back, I'll use a Command Spell to feed you Mapo Tofu!"

After Kirei Kotomine's tireless "promotion," Mapo Tofu had become the Heroic Spirits' least favorite food—without a doubt.

"Hey, Master," Cú Chulainn immediately replied. "You know me. I only cause trouble when I've been drinking, and all we've got is cola, right?"

You need a reason to cause trouble?

Medusa pushed up her glasses and patted the book on her lap. "Master, you know me. I only like reading."

It's so dark during a movie. What on earth can you read?

"Master, you know me. I generally don't cause trouble unless the golden and blue guys can't hold back."

Red A was practically itching to get started.

Yan Qing crossed his legs and said innocently, "Master, you know me. I'd never cause trouble. It's always someone else who does."

Are you planning to disguise yourself as someone else and cause trouble?

Shinji's mouth twitched violently.

"Hmph."

"■■..."

Gilgamesh and Berserker said nothing, only giving Shinji a look.

The former didn't deign to speak, while the latter, crouching in the aisle, was unable to.

"Master, you know me... I... mmm... only like... mmm..."

Seeing Artoria still eating popcorn even as she spoke, Shinji waved both hands. "All right, all right, just eat."

Honestly... every last one of them had a special skill. Were these people really here to watch a movie?

Shinji turned around and rubbed his temples in frustration, only to notice Touko beside him typing an email on her phone.

"Hm? Aozaki, are you still working? You're so diligent."

"No, I'm chatting with someone I know." Touko snapped her flip phone shut and smiled at Shinji. "I recommended this movie to them."

"Then I really have to thank you, Aozaki."

Touko's behavior was in stark contrast to the troublesome Heroic Spirits behind them, which moved Shinji deeply.

Touko curled her lips and joked, "I'd prefer a raise to verbal praise."

"Ah, that's not very likely. I'm already working for myself for free. The Matou Family's allowance is all I have to live on," Shinji said with a pained expression. "I thought you'd just finished a big job?"

"But I also had plenty of expenses. I need to buy a lot of materials again."

"No problem. You can add those material costs to the movie's production budget later." Shinji winked slyly.

FSN's Tokyo test screening.

Udagawa Nao attended as a Bandai observer, sitting among the moviegoers with more than a dozen of her colleagues scattered around the room.

Once the movie started, they would take notes on the audience's reactions during the screening.

In truth, Udagawa Nao, a mid-level executive, didn't need to do this herself. But FSN was the first major project she'd taken on after transferring to the film division, and she'd also been the one to make it happen.

She wasn't sure whether the company's expensive acquisition would succeed. Perhaps only seeing the moviegoers' reactions with her own eyes would help her calm down a little.

"Um... excuse me."

Two young women stood beside Udagawa Nao. One had red hair, and the other had short black hair.