Shinji: Keep Bluffing, Go On~

"Of course not, Master, stop slandering me!"

It's a pity Joan of Arc isn't Martha, otherwise she would definitely have shown her Master what the Saintess's iron fist of judgment is like!

Actually, it doesn't matter if Joan of Arc's condition really declined, because today's filming content didn't involve Joan of Arc much.

Today's shoot is a special segment on Empress Semiramis, focusing on her and her Noble Phantasm, the Hanging Gardens.

Regarding the Hanging Gardens, Shinji's original plan was to have the Empress actually build one.

After filming is finished, this thing can be used as a unique attraction at the Fuyuki City Film Studio.

As for why such a huge thing can float in the sky?

Don't ask, the answer is a gas explosion.

Unfortunately, Semiramis did some calculations for Shinji.

If it were a complete Hanging Gardens, the magic it would need to maintain would be completely disproportionate to the revenue it would generate as a tourist attraction.

Not only will it fail to generate tourism revenue for Fuyuki City, it will also affect the Heroic Spirit Summoning —because a large amount of mana is needed to maintain their levitation.

In the end, Shinji could only have Semiramis create a simplified mini version of the Hanging Gardens as a future tourist attraction in Fuyuki City.

Although it's called a mini version, it's actually not small at all; it's roughly the size of a medium-sized Ferris wheel laid sideways, which is enough to attract tourists.

Furthermore, Shinji explained the size using "amazing science and technology," so that it wouldn't seem unbelievable to ordinary people.

However, with such a size, many interior details of the Hanging Gardens cannot be shown, and the interior scenery must be built on the ground.

In fact, during the time Shinji was promoting Super Eight, the set design team for the FA series was doing this all along.

The set is now complete, Shinji is ready to begin filming.

In Shinji's Brotherhood, Empress Semiramis doesn't have much screen time, roughly equivalent to Thanos in Parallel world of Endgame.

I'll take a short break to introduce the character; most of the time I'll be AFK preparing the Hanging Gardens.

Semiramis doesn't have a significant role until Amakusa rebels and the film enters its final battle.

Therefore, Semiramis had not had much interaction with the other members of the crew. Many staff members did not even meet this beautiful Empress until she officially joined the crew today.

But for some reason, this Empress didn't give off a very good impression.

Even Joan of Arc, who had already greeted the other party, felt extremely uncomfortable every time she saw her, as if she had seen some venomous snake or ferocious beast.

"She's clearly a beautiful woman, yet she gives off a cold and aloof vibe. Is this her Acting Skills, or is she just naturally like that?"

Joan of Arc of Arc's criticism surprisingly received Amakusa's agreement.

"It's true. I thought she was a cute girl when we were training together before. Now... she gives off a femme fatale vibe."

"Mr. Amakusa, it's been a long time~"

Semiramis noticed the two Rulers huddled together, and she smiled as she went up to greet Amakusa.

"Hello, Semiramis."

Amakusa quickly responded.

"I'm so excited to finally act with you!"

Semiramis's smile was as radiant as a flower, like that of an innocent young girl.

"Me... me too."

Amakusa's smile looked forced.

If it were the initial Semiramis, he should have been able to act very naturally.

But after experiencing Semiramis's femme fatale state just now, seeing the innocent, girlish version of the Empress made Amakusa's heart skip a beat.

Generally speaking, a man would be in a very good mood if he were treated gently by such a beautiful woman.

If a man could win over such a beautiful woman, he would feel a great sense of accomplishment and excitement.

Although Amakusa was religious and had lofty ideals, he was still a man and couldn't possibly be completely indifferent to women.

But Amakusa doesn't have any such thoughts now; on the contrary, he keeps his distance from this Empress.

[It's probably just that the other person has a very strong presence. I'm somewhat envious of her Acting Skills.]

Considering Semiramis's kind attitude towards him, Amakusa could only attribute it to the other party's superb Acting Skills.

Semiramis was mostly gentle with Amakusa, but she wasn't so kind to Joan of Arc.

"You must be Joan of Arc?"

When Semiramis looked at Joan of Arc, the smile had vanished from her face.

Hello, please guide me from now on.

Joan of Arc of Arc reached out her hand to Semiramis, but he did not take it.

"Yes, we'll take good care of you in the days to come."

Semiramis said coldly.

[This attitude isn't one of offering guidance; it's purely about picking a fight, isn't it?]

Joan of Arc speculated with a grim expression.

[Their attitudes towards me and Amakusa are so different, could it be...?]

A glint of something gossipy flashed in Joan of Joan of Arc's eyes.

Unfortunately Semiramis had no intention of communicating properly with Joan of Arc; she didn't even give Joan of Arc a chance to ask questions.

"Well then, Mr. Amakusa, let's work together to make a good movie."

Semiramis bowed to Amakusa, then took the script and went to find Shinji.

"Master, about my performance..."

Feeling ignored, Joan of Arc gave a disgruntled snort at Semiramis's retreating figure.

"What... what's so amazing about her! She's just the second... third... fourth female lead!"

Joan of Arc counted on her fingers and placed Semiramis after herself, Mordred, and Afu.

"I'd say you could say she had an imposing presence," Amakusa chuckled. "The Queen of Assyria ... she truly lived up to the title."

"The World's oldest poisoner... could the mummies of the people she poisoned be hidden in that long braid that looks like a coffin lid?"

Joan of Arc speculated maliciously.

Empress Semiramis 1. jpg

Empress Semiramis 3. jpg

Empress Semiramis 4. jpg

Chapter 257 Shinji: Keep bluffing, keep bluffing!

Semiramis was unaware of Joan of Arc of Arc's feelings for him.

Of course, even if she knew, she wouldn't care.

From the time she lived until now, Empress has faced no shortage of criticism. Although the criticism of Joan of Arc of Arc hiding a corpse in her hair was unique, Semiramis had heard even the most vicious words before.

In reality, Semiramis wasn't feigning aloofness or giving Joan of Arc and the others the cold shoulder.

But whether in life or in death, she was far too lonely as a queen, which made her unsure how to communicate peacefully with people, and she could only keep a stern face.

If we really want to investigate, half of this matter is due to those Shinji beasts, Director Shen.

If he hadn't repeatedly emphasized to the Heroic Spirit Actor, "Your Acting Skills aren't good enough, so you should try to get into character and prepare in advance," the Empress's aloof attitude would probably have been better.

Of course, Amakusa and Joan of Arc are exceptions.

Leaving aside the former, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that Empress has feelings for the priest.

The latter... it's not that the Empress is jealous of the Saintess, or that the Saintess is stealing food from her.

Semiramis knew very well that nothing could ever happen between Joan of Arc and Amakusa; their values were too different, and they simply couldn't reach an agreement.

She was just a little annoyed that although she and the priest were supposed to be a couple, he spent most of his scenes with the enemy, Joan of Arc.

However, no one, including the Empress herself, was aware of Empress Empress's true attitude towards outsiders.

There was no way around it; Semiramis's unapproachable aura directly revealed her aloof attitude, so how could outsiders dare to try to understand what she was thinking?

Even if Amakusa vaguely sensed that Semiramis's attitude towards him had changed, he, being a woman-respecting man, wouldn't share such a thing with others; at most, he would only speculate about it in his heart.

How could Amakusa possibly realize that there was some kind of romantic spark between him and Semiramis?

After all, the Semiramis on set right now is not at all like a woman in love.

Even Semiramis herself was well aware of this.

"I know that villains need to be ruthless, but isn't this aloof attitude a bit too much?"

Semiramis stared speechlessly at her cold face in the mirror.

She just gave up the opportunity to deepen her relationship with Amakusa because she wanted to confirm her situation with Master. She always felt that Shinji was leading her into a trap.

"Hmm, very good, just like the femme fatale I've been imagining."

Shinji responded to the Empress's question with a smile.

[So, the culprit really is you, Master?]

The Empress glanced at Shinji, her eyes conveying only one message.

[If you don't explain yourself clearly, I'll poison you. JPG]

"Master, I can understand making me wear a black dress, but what's the meaning of this strange style?!"

When Semiramis was summoned, she had the classic long, straight black hair, which was the first character model in FGO.

However, at Shinji's insistence, she changed to the hairstyle with two long braids that Joan of Arc had criticized, which is commonly known as the "Amakusa hairstyle"—because someone photoshopped an image of Amakusa tucked into the braids.

Semiramis didn't know the coffin reference, but she knew the hairstyle was awful and she always hoped Shinji would change it.

However--

"Isn't it great? This is my masterpiece."

Shinji, however, proudly puffed out his nose.

"This excessively long braid is a message to the audience that you, the young queen, are bearing a weight that you shouldn't have to bear at your age."

"This..."

Several black lines appeared on Semiramis's forehead.

If you follow the Second Master's line of thinking, his nonsense does seem to have some merit, but is Semiramis someone who can be so easily fooled?!

"Master, what you said is truly wonderful. I feel I should hold your hand tightly to express my gratitude."

"You don't need to do this at all. We can talk things out."

Shinji quickly took two steps back, keeping his distance from the Empress.

Just kidding, if he really got to shake hands with someone, Shinji would probably be meeting two masters of Counter Force tonight.

To avoid Semiramis actually poisoning him, Shinji quickly explained, "Ahem, let's put it this way. After the script was revised, your scenes were slightly reduced."

Semiramis nodded slightly. "I know that."

"I'm sure you wouldn't want to end up as a supporting character overshadowed by Joan of Arc in your first on-screen collaboration with Amakusa, would you?"

"Indeed."

"So in order for your character to be remembered by more viewers, I need to use your appearance to deepen their impression of you."

"Is that so?"

Recalling the several versions of the character scripts that Shinji had shown her, Semiramis understood somewhat what the other person meant.

"But that's still not a reason for you to make me look bad."

Shinji shrugged. "To put it simply, a character's appearance is an outward expression of their inner self. You, Semiramis, are a strong-willed woman, an outstanding political figure, and also a ruthless queen—"

At this point, the Empress gave Shinji cold snort.