Don't Call Me Master, Call Me Director

"Excuse me, could you move?"

The woman with long red hair asked Udagawa Nao.

"Sorry."

Udagawa Nao quickly retracted her foot.

The red-haired woman quickly pulled the black-haired woman to the seat on Udagawa Nao's right.

Perhaps it was the movie theater environment that made them a little less guarded, but after the two beauties sat down, they began to chatter non-stop as if no one else was around.

Of course, the lively red-haired beauty did most of the talking, while the black-haired one occasionally responded or briefly asked her own questions.

From their self-introductions, Udagawa Nao learned that the red-haired woman was called Aoko, and the short black-haired woman was called Azu.

"Luck~"

The girl called Aoko put down her phone, looking satisfied.

"It's really lucky to have an older sister who's an internal employee. If Touko hadn't reminded me, I might not have been able to get a spot." 869062952

"Aoko..."

Kuonji Azu, sitting on the left and possessing a somewhat literary girl aura, said softly, "Why are you so interested in this movie? Touko wasn't involved, was she?"

"It has nothing to do with my sister," Aoko said with a grin. "I just want to see what kind of movie the Director who made my old man so angry turns out."

"It's likely to be a bad movie. I can't imagine how a Mage would film a movie," Kuonji Azu said with some worry. "I regret it now, Aoko. I shouldn't have come with you."

"Don't say that. It's a free movie, so it's a waste not to watch it. Azu, just think of it as killing time. Here, eat some popcorn."

"You know I don't like these things."

Azu pushed away the popcorn her friend offered.

Udagawa Nao, overhearing their conversation, chuckled. She assumed the two girls were ordinary audience members who couldn't get interested in the movie due to the lack of big stars and famous Directors.

In fact, neither of them were frequent moviegoers. If Shinji hadn't left such a deep impression on Aoko at that banquet, she wouldn't have bothered coming to the cinema.

As for Azu, she wouldn't have come to see a movie if Aoko hadn't dragged her along. Azu had always disliked crowded places, especially enclosed spaces like movie theaters where people stayed together for extended periods.

Udagawa Nao stopped paying attention to Aoko and Azu beside her and began to focus on the other moviegoers around them.

As more and more people entered, the hall grew noisy.

From the surrounding chatter, Udagawa Nao could tell that almost no one was genuinely interested in FSN.

The people present were those who had applied for the chance to watch new movies and were selected. They came to the cinema with the mentality that since they had been chosen, it would be a waste not to watch it.

Sigh, if the audience reaction is still like this after the movie is shown, then this film will be in trouble.

Udagawa Nao sighed softly. Even though she herself was optimistic about FSN, she couldn't help but overthink things at this moment.

Snap.

The lights in the theater dimmed, and the big screen lit up.

"The movie's starting."

Aoko muttered as she leaned back in her seat, but she didn't stop sipping her cola and munching on popcorn. Her attention was mostly not on the screen.

"Azu, if you don't want your cola, can you give it to me later?"

Aoko shook her paper cup and, finding she had already drunk two-thirds of it, asked her companion.

"Whatever."

Azu, resting one hand on the armrest, seemed impatient.

"Thanks."

Aoko unceremoniously placed Azu's cola on her left armrest, then put the popcorn on her lap.

At this point, the big screen had just finished showing the logos of TYPE-MOON Film Company and Bandai, and was entering the main feature.

"The Holy Grail War, a bloody battle waged by Mages around the omnipotent wish-granting machine—the Holy Grail..."

Father Mapi's deep and steady voice emanated from the theater's speakers, introducing the most basic setting of the Holy Grail War to the moviegoers.

"Mhm mhm..."

Aoko took a big gulp of cola and grabbed a few more pieces of popcorn, throwing them into her mouth.

"Hey, Azu, have you heard of the Holy Grail War?"

Azu thought for a moment and replied, "Hmm... A Mage ritual in Fuyuki City? I've heard a little about it. It was abandoned long ago because the Heroic Spirits were too weak to meet the requirements."

"Huh? It's real?" Aoko continued to stuff popcorn into her mouth, muttering, "That kid from the Matou Family really isn't afraid of trouble, daring to publicize something like this?"

"Pfft pfft--"

Udagawa Nao, sitting next to Aoko, struggled to suppress her laughter.

Are these two girls still stuck in their chuunibyou phase? They actually believe the movie's plot? But they got into character so quickly!

Udagawa Nao glanced at Azu out of the corner of her eye.

I didn't expect this quiet young lady to be a fantasist. I've heard that reserved literary girls can be quite imaginative, but I didn't expect her to be so invested.

Aoko and Azu were unaware that they were seen as late-stage chuunibyou sufferers by others. They continued to chat idly about the movie's content, still from the perspective of professional Mages.

By this time, the movie had reached the middle of its prelude. Rin discovered a magic circle on the school rooftop, thus sensing the Blood Temple that covered the entire school.

"A bit interesting, but these kinds of Barriers are usually all show and no go, right?" Aoko commented. "It probably only converts a tiny bit of Magic."

"Redundant."

Azu summarized concisely.

Before Aoko could reply, Lancer appeared on screen, followed by the movie's first action scene.

Seeing Lancer and Archer collide on the sports field, Aoko raised an eyebrow.

"I wonder about these Heroic Spirits..."

She stopped herself mid-sentence, her eyes fixed on the big screen...

Azu beside her had an almost identical reaction. She was no longer slouched back in her chair but sat up straight, her hands resting properly on her knees.

Azu had never liked movies. Her impression of films was limited to noisy, childish cartoons and art films where people took their clothes off at the drop of a hat.

She had never understood what art there was in two people pressing their bodies together for fluid exchange. There were far more stimulating rituals in the Magecraft world.

So, rather than movies, Azu preferred reading. She felt it was a spiritual exchange between herself and the authors.

But this FSN was completely different from any movie Azu had seen before. There were no lengthy dialogues, no dragging pacing, no scenes with unclear meaning. There was only exciting plot and brilliant combat.

More importantly, as a seasoned Mage, Azu was deeply captivated by the gorgeous Magecraft on screen, which was impossible to achieve in reality.

"Matou Shinji... he must be a Mage Master."

Azu murmured, gazing affectionately at the screen.

Chapter 22: Shut Up, You're Disturbing My Movie Watching

The battle between Archer and Lancer, as FSN's opening action sequence, had captured the attention of all the Audience from the very first frame.

Ordinary Audience marveled at the incredible, gorgeous special effects and exciting fight choreography. Insightful Mage Audience, like Azu, focused on the application effects of the various Magecrafts on screen.

And then there were a few special Audience whose focus was somewhat different.

"Twenty times... I knocked your weapon away twenty times!"

Cú Chulainn chuckled, nudging Red A beside him with his elbow.

"I say, Archer. Your projection weapons aren't very durable. If Master hadn't called 'Cut,' you probably would have been killed by me, right?"

The Heroic Spirits' extremely high combat proficiency meant that Shinji rarely designed specific actions for them during filming.

When shooting these action scenes, Shinji would only briefly explain the general flow of the battle, leaving the rest to the Heroic Spirits to improvise.

Therefore, the background character Red A being dominated by the big dog was not a script issue, but rather that he genuinely couldn't win.

Despite this being the truth, Red A still felt a little displeased hearing Doggy's taunts beside him.

Sticking to the principle of "lose the fight but not the spirit," Red A crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, saying with a calm expression, "You're comparing yourself to me, a ranged combatant, in close-quarters combat. Are you even ashamed?"

"Didn't you choose that yourself?" Cú Chulainn rolled his eyes. "You're an archer, yet you like charging in with two short swords."

"That was just Master's command."

Red A said, without blushing or skipping a beat, as if he would really do such a thing.

"Munch munch... munch munch..."

Artoria on the other side was stuffing handfuls of popcorn into her mouth.

"Their fight is taking a bit too long," Artoria complained unhappily. "Hey, Rider. Call me when I'm up, I'm going to snack for a bit."

"You're so noisy. Can't you watch the movie yourself?"

Medusa shot her an annoyed glance, contemplating whether to use her petrifying gaze to quiet down the big eater.

Fortunately, the movie's runtime was limited, and the battle between Archer and Lancer couldn't go on for too long. After a few minutes of symbolic combat, they were interrupted by the intruding Shirou Emiya.

"Munch munch... I'm going to appear soon... excited... excited..."

Seeing the movie's plot continue to advance, Artoria quieted down a little and focused her attention on the big screen. She stopped eating popcorn in large mouthfuls and instead nibbled like a hamster.

Aside from the heroine Artoria herself, not many Audience members wanted the movie's first battle to end so quickly.

"Hey, hey, keep fighting!"

"It ended just as it was getting exciting?"

"I still want to see what moves that blue-tight-wearing pervert will use!"

Listening to the surrounding Audience's words, Udagawa Nao nodded with satisfaction.

The Audience's willingness to express their opinions showed they were invested in the movie, which was a good sign.

[Now then, what about the two ladies beside me?]

Udagawa Nao turned to Aoko and Azu, only to find them watching the screen with serious expressions.

Aoko pinched her chin and asked softly, "Azu, is something like this possible?"

What she was referring to, of course, was Rin saving a dying Shirou with her jewels.

"Hmm... it's hard to say," Azu replied seriously. "Theoretically, it should be possible, but no one has performed Magecraft of this level for nearly a hundred years, so most people wouldn't even think of it. Matou Shinji, that Mage, is truly amazing..."

As she spoke the last sentence, a hint of longing flashed in Azu's calm eyes.

Azu knew the movie was fake, but the fact that Matou Shinji could simulate Magecraft of this level through imagination indicated that the other party's Magecraft attainments were absolutely high.

"..."

After listening to the two young ladies' conversation, Udagawa Nao could only offer an awkward yet polite smile.

[As long as you two are happy.]

As the plot progressed, the next part of the movie naturally moved on to the scene where Shirou Emiya was locked in a battle of wits with Lancer at his home.

Although this short scene was far from the intensity of a Heroic Spirits battle, Shinji had filmed it thrillingly.

The camera moved rapidly down the narrow corridor, frequently switching between a terrified Shirou and a relaxed Cú Chulainn, making the Audience, who thought Shirou was saved, tense up again, until--

"Servant Saber, I have answered your summons."

At this moment, all the movie theaters in Japan showing FSN fell silent, as if time had frozen.

"How beautiful..."

Many Audience members uttered such exclamations.

In a pool of moonlight, Artoria officially appeared.

Under Shinji's meticulous editing, Artoria's entrance was incredibly detailed. The young knight's slightly aloof face instantly captivated everyone's attention.

She was so beautiful, so handsome, so dreamlike... Such a girl should not exist in this world; she was the perfect knight belonging only to stories!

Not only male Audience members, but many female Audience members were captivated by Artoria the moment they saw her.