Don't Call Me Master, Call Me Director

It seems old man Derek Ford wasn't entirely accurate; taking off clothes doesn't just help actresses win awards, it helps production companies rake in box office revenue. No wonder there are more and more "art films" like this.

Over time, Master Shinji could even guess the female lead's attractiveness and the length of her nude scenes by the length of the queues and the intensity of the audience's discussions.

No wonder people always say Western audiences have a heavy taste; these guys really do.

While observing the old perverts lining up to see naked women, Shinji hoped FSN would also generate such attention.

In fact, don't let the fact that Shinji himself can stroll around Cannes fool you; FSN's promotion has already begun.

The promotion team not only released the lead actress Artoria's personal poster early on but also spent a fortune on advertising screens on the streets of Cannes to play the movie trailer. They also arranged a special interview for Tohsaka Rin.

Although there's no need to win an award, to sign a quality distribution agreement, the audience reaction at FSN's screening absolutely cannot be poor.

For a movie like FSN, where the entire Film Crew, from the Director to the actors, is unknown, the only way to attract a large audience at a film festival is through massive promotion.

Unfortunately, FSN's actors are simply not well-known, and the all-ages rating has left the French entertainment media with little motivation to follow up, resulting in FSN not generating much heated discussion in the local media before its screening.

Conversely, the British media, across the sea from France, paid more attention to this film than to those scantily clad women vying for attention.

The British media's interest in FSN is certainly not because the protagonist is the famous King Arthur of Britain, but rather the result of Waver's diligent business development in Britain over the past year.

The extensive promotion by these British media outlets was a huge help to FSN. Even though the Cannes Film Festival is held in France, it attracts media and film enthusiasts from all over the world.

While the French locals might not be interested in the British media, people from other countries pay close attention to it. Combined with the flashy combat footage trailers playing on the streets, FSN gained a certain level of recognition even before its European debut.

Finally, the fifth day of the Cannes Film Festival arrived. The 12-day festival reached its midpoint, and FSN's European premiere in Cannes kicked off on this day.

FSN's premiere was arranged at a decent cinema. Although it wasn't one of the main festival venues, it was much more generous than what they received at Bandai a month prior.

It's rather ironic that FSN, a Japanese film, is receiving a premiere treatment in France that it didn't even get in Japan.

This is thanks to the extensive work done by the European branch of TYPE-MOON Film Company led by Waver, and even more so to the influence of the European Mage Families who collaborated with Shinji.

However, compared to the premieres of other first-class films, FSN still seemed a bit modest; it didn't even have the iconic red carpet ceremony.

The main reason was that only Rin from the Film Crew attended, so whether or not she walked the red carpet made little difference.

Shinji himself had no intention of using others for red carpet exposure as charity, so the red carpet was simply canceled.

While the red carpet ceremony was absent, the pre-screening press interviews were still essential.

To build momentum for the film, with the efforts of Waver and others, over 100 reporters from nearly 50 media outlets worldwide appeared at this premiere.

In terms of media buzz alone, FSN could barely rank among the top films at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

As Shinji, Rin, and Kariya walked into the cinema, the media reporters, carefully selected by the publicity department, immediately approached them for interviews.

The reporters were divided into three groups: the largest group surrounded Rin, the second largest surrounded Shinji, and the fewest reporters were around Kariya, who was essentially just an observer.

Since these reporters had been pre-screened, their questions were mostly routine and not out of line.

However, more than FSN itself, the reporters were concerned about Shinji's age, and their questions were mostly related to it.

After all, Shinji's current age meant he wasn't considered an adult in any country, and the vast contrast between being a teenager still in school and a Director of a feature film officially participating in Cannes was too significant.

This was also the main promotional point for Waver and the others: a 16-year-old genius director!

After finishing the interviews, Shinji stood at the entrance of the screening hall, engaging in friendly exchanges with the representatives of the distributors.

This premiere was more like an industry and media screening event, attended mostly by media professionals or buyers from film distribution companies from all over the world.

Less than a third of the attendees were ordinary audience members, there to provide atmosphere.

If these distributors were interested in the film, they would attend the subsequent screenings specifically for the general audience and ultimately decide whether or not to purchase the film.

Since these people he was interacting with could become future partners, Shinji was quite polite during these exchanges, at least maintaining basic social etiquette.

Until a certain silver-haired beauty appeared.

"Matou Shinji, we meet again."

Chloe smiled.

"Yes, we meet again," Shinji nodded. "I hope you enjoy the screening."

Chloe chuckled, covering her mouth. "Of course, I'm very much looking forward to your performance. I'm very interested to see how you'll put your theories into practice."

Shinji, however, seemed to ignore her sparkling eyes and said very seriously, "I don't think I'll disappoint you as an audience member."

"Oh, Shinji. I'm a representative of the Jidai Group, you know~ Don't you want to cooperate with me?"

"I just..."

Before Shinji could finish, Rin, who had squeezed out from the crowd of reporters, interrupted their conversation.

"I'm exhausted, talking to those reporters is so tiring. Shinji, I was telling you..."

Rin's complaint stopped halfway as she noticed both Shinji and Chloe staring at her.

[Am I getting into some trouble?]

Sensing something was wrong with her intuition, Rin's first reaction was to glare fiercely at Shinji.

[It's your fault again, Shinji!]

Shinji: "???"

Shinji, Chloe, and Tohsaka Rin stared at each other outside the screening room.

For a moment, the three of them fell into a strange silence.

Chloe was the first to speak.

"Oh my, Shinji," she said.

Chloe grabbed Shinji's shoulders, narrowed her eyes, and asked, "Who is this woman with you?"

Shinji's face instantly turned green. "Lissy...?!"

[What is this chilling smile? Isn't your Flora Family's Magecraft plant-based? When did you learn ice Magecraft?]

Rin, on the side, seemed to have guessed something after hearing the silver-haired beauty and Shinji address each other by name.

"Is she one of the women you're seeing outside, Shinji?" Rin flicked her ponytail to one side and smiled gracefully. "Could you introduce us?"

"One of the women?"

Chloe's face turned as cold as the unmelting ice of the South Pole.

"Shinji, I don't remember raising you to be this kind of man, older sister~"

"Ah... Lissy... Ah!"

Shinji's brain was racing at 150 miles per second.

On the surface, Master Shinji appeared calm and collected, as if this were nothing. But inwardly, Shinji felt as though his heart was beating too fast for his blood supply to keep up.

"Lissy, this is Tohsaka Rin, the one I've always told you about. She happened to have a role in a movie this time, so I brought her to Cannes to look around."

Shinji explained Rin to Chloe in a way that even Cú Chulainn, that big doggy, could understand.

"Hmph~~"

Chloe snorted softly through her nose, still not letting Shinji off the hook.

"And? What about 'one of the women' she mentioned?"

"That..." Shinji pondered for a moment before forcibly explaining, "Because Rin isn't very used to English yet, her word choice and sentence structure are a bit off..."

Before Master Shinji could finish his fabricated excuse, Rin interrupted him unceremoniously.

"Hey, Shinji. Was what I said that strange? Aren't you at the Clock Tower..."

How could Rin miss such a good opportunity to diss Shinji?

She couldn't be bothered to cover for Shinji. If nothing else, exposing Shinji's true nature would help the young lady in front of her escape from this predicament.

So, Rin forcefully pushed Shinji aside and stepped forward to interact with Chloe.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Tohsaka Rin."

As she spoke, Rin extended her hand.

"You are truly beautiful, Miss. I know Shinji often hangs out with pretty girls, but I never expected him to get involved with a beauty of your caliber. You've really surprised me."

To Rin's surprise, after her introduction, Chloe's eyes lit up, and she warmly clasped Rin's outstretched hand with both of hers.

"Oh, oh! You're Tohsaka Rin? Shinji often talks about you. The genius Mage of the Tohsaka family, the talented girl with all five Great Spirits."

"That guy... wait, Shinji mentions me often?"

Rin felt a hint of surprise.

"Yes!"

Chloe nodded vigorously. "Old rivals since childhood, an inescapable fated bond, like a pair of sworn enemies!"

"Fated bond... sworn enemies... Shinji, you explain yourself!"

A terrifying amount of Magic erupted from Rin, her long black hair floating behind her like a vengeful spirit under the influence of the Magic.

"Cough! Lissy, what nonsense are you spouting!"

[Damn it, wasn't that just drunken rambling? Why do you remember it so clearly!!]

For a moment, Master Shinji felt he was in mortal danger.

What goes around comes around.

Shinji deeply understood this truth.

"Alright, Lissy."

Feeling that if these two continued to converse, he might not see tomorrow's sun, Shinji decisively pulled Chloe aside.

"You have the distributor's ticket, right? Hurry and go in," Shinji said, pushing her along. "I'll take you in."

Seeing his life threatened, Shinji no longer cared about his attitude towards Chloe. He just wanted to separate these two young ladies as quickly as possible.

Snap.

Rin grabbed Shinji.

"Shinji, I'm actually quite interested in Western Magecraft... Let me escort this older sister to find our seats~"

As she said this, Rin's grip on Shinji's shoulder made a creaking sound.

"Her status is quite noble, isn't it? We should treat her with proper hospitality. What do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea. I'd also like to learn more about the Japanese Magecraft scene." Chloe clapped her hands together, her eyes turning to Second Master. "Shinji, what do you think?"

[Can I even say no?]

Master Shinji felt like crying. Although he desperately wanted to refuse, the overbearing attitudes of the two in front of him left him no room to speak.

And so, Chloe and Rin, two beautiful women, walked into the screening room arm-in-arm, leaving Master Shinji alone and flustered at the entrance.

"That Young Lady from the Tohsaka family seems quite interesting. You're lucky to have a childhood friend like her."

Waver, who had watched the entire spectacle unfold, teased Shinji with a hint of schadenfreude.

Shinji simply smiled and said nothing to Waver's gloating.

[In two more years, when Rin goes to study abroad at the Clock Tower, I'm sure you'll fall for this interesting Young Lady Tohsaka! You gloomy, impotent man!]

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As a representative of the Jidai Group, Chloe was arranged a prime seat – a comfortable "king's seat" located in the middle-rear of the theater.

Chloe suspected that such a good seat was arranged by Waver Velvet. That scoundrel Shinji would never have paid her such importance.

Actually, the Jidai Group had two seats. Chloe had one, and her assistant had the other. With Rin's arrival, Chloe had promptly sent away her somewhat bothersome assistant and given her seat directly to Rin.

So, when Shinji finally entered the screening room, he immediately spotted the two women deep in conversation.

Seeing them interact intimately like best friends, Shinji really wanted to go over and listen to what they were talking about.

But the movie was about to start, so Shinji could only sit down in their assigned seats with Waver.

[I hope they don't spill all my secrets.]

With such anxious thoughts, Shinji didn't find the theater's luxurious, soft seats comfortable at all; instead, he felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

In reality, Chloe and Rin's conversation had long since moved on from him.