Don't Call Me Master, Call Me Director

Shirou scratched his cheek and replied, "But that Shinji guy didn't even tell us when exactly we'd arrive in Fuyuki City. Even if he was worried about flight delays, he should have at least given us a rough time..."

"Welcome, Shirou Emiya."

Hearing Artoria's greeting, Shirou quickly looked up.

"It's Saber, you... Pfft---!!!"

Seeing Artoria in a maid outfit before him, Shirou lost all sense of direction.

Even Illya's eyes lit up upon seeing Artoria's attire, her ears twitching excitedly like a cat's.

"So... so amazing! Illya wants to wear those pretty clothes too!"

"No, no, no, Illya, you don't need them."

Shirou quickly pulled his sister away, lest she stray down the wrong path.

"Shirou, Illya, please come in."

Artoria, however, didn't think there was anything wrong with her outfit. She ushered the two guests into the house as if she were a real maid.

"Okay, I understand."

The shock was so overwhelming that Shirou forgot to ask Artoria the reason for her attire and simply followed obediently.

"Shirou Emiya, Illya Einzbern, please rest in the living room."

After leading them to the living room, Artoria didn't linger and went straight into the kitchen.

Shirou peeked through the doorframe and saw Artoria stirring a pot with a spoon. From the slightly pungent aroma, Shirou realized it was the sauce for Mapo Tofu.

"Sakura, what on earth is going on?!"

Completely bewildered, Shirou sought out the mistress of the Matou Family.

"Shut up, Senpai. This is the exciting part right now."

Sakura unceremoniously pushed Shirou aside, signaling him not to block the camera lens she was holding.

"This is excellent material for blackmailing Older Brother out of his allowance, so please don't interfere," Sakura warned in a very serious tone.

"What is all this nonsense?" Shirou grew more confused.

"Young man, you just need to wait quietly."

"Kirei, you're here too... Pfft!!! What's going on with you?!"

Seeing Kirei Kotomine at the dining table with a white napkin tied around his neck, Shirou spat out his drink for the second time that day.

Kirei Kotomine, holding a spoon, replied, "I'm just receiving treatment."

"Hey, hey, you've got drool on your chin."

Shirou didn't know where to even begin complaining anymore.

Artoria, still making Mapo Tofu in the kitchen, turned around and complained.

"Honestly, saying 'eating Mapo Tofu will cure May Sickness,' Kirei, you eat this every day. Are you really suffering from May Sickness?"

With that, Artoria shot Kirei Kotomine a glare.

"The ingredients are no different from regular Mapo Tofu, except for the excessive amount of chili... cough cough, it's really choking."

"Th-this... Ow, ow... My stomach really hurts, and my chest too. My limbs are also weak."

Kirei Kotomine suddenly clutched his stomach and feigned illness in a completely flat tone.

[This guy... he'll go to any lengths just to eat Mapo Tofu.]

Seeing the scene, Shirou could only offer an awkward yet polite smile.

"I don't know if this guy wants to eat Mapo Tofu or just wants to see someone make Mapo Tofu that he dislikes. His switch has been completely flipped. Does Matou Shinji know what he's doing?"

Shirou turned around and finally saw Archer leaning against the wall, sighing in a detached tone.

"Aren't you guys going to explain anything?" Shirou read the spectator's mentality in Red A's teasing gaze.

Red A chuckled maliciously, "Why would I say anything when it's this interesting?"

"...You guys..."

Shirou sighed, holding his forehead. He would never admit that he was already looking forward to Shinji's return, never!

In the kitchen, Sakura continued to film Artoria while directing her.

"Quick! Say you're treating Older Brother to a meal, like a newlywed wife!"

"Sakura, what's the point of this?"

Artoria looked at her suspiciously.

Sakura continued her nonsensical explanation, "Oh, Older Brother has been away for almost half a month. His May Sickness must be quite severe, requiring strong medicine to cure!"

"I... I understand..."

Artoria took a deep breath. She imitated the heroine from a Shoujo Manga she had borrowed from Rin, covering her face with a spoon and putting on a shy expression.

"Dinner's almost ready, my dear..."

"That's amazing!!"

Sakura excitedly waved her fists, laughing proudly.

"With this, Older Brother will definitely be overjoyed!!"

"Hey, Sakura. Are you going to record your own voice?"

Unfortunately, Sakura couldn't hear Artoria's reminder anymore; she was already lost in her own world.

"What should I use next? A sexy swimsuit? But Saber's figure isn't good enough... Maybe a gorgeous dress... No, no, no... That probably won't impress Older Brother..."

Facing Sakura, who was muttering at lightning speed, Artoria sighed helplessly.

Only Kirei Kotomine remained seated at the dining table, silently wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth.

"Mapo Tofu... isn't it ready yet?"

Just as the Matou Family's kitchen was descending into chaos, the doorbell finally rang.

"I'm home."

Shinji's voice came through the intercom into the room.

"Master!!"

[Crap! I forgot about my most important patient!]

Artoria's ahoge instantly stood on end. She casually placed the Mapo Tofu on the table and dashed towards the entrance.

[Master, you must be safe! Wait for me, I'll definitely restore you to health!]

The moment she reached the front door, Artoria knelt with her hands on her knees, flashing Shinji a sweet smile that Sakura had taught her countless times.

"Master! Welcome home!"

Shinji, standing at the door, was momentarily stunned by Artoria's maid outfit.

However, compared to Shirou, the well-traveled Shinji quickly calmed down and waved enthusiastically at Artoria.

"Artoria, long time no see. Did you miss me?"

Having made a fortune at Cannes, Master Shinji was in a very good mood.

Seeing Shinji so energetic, Artoria breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"That's great, it looks like your May Sickness has cleared up, Master." Artoria smiled and patted her chest. "It's wonderful that your Magic Circuits aren't depleted!"

Master Shinji looked utterly confused. "Circuit depletion? Saber, what are you cursing me with? Do you hate your Master that much?"

"Huh? Huh?"

Artoria's ahoge twitched twice.

The King of Knights' dazed expression made Shinji frown, sensing something was wrong.

"Tell me, what exactly is going on?"

So, Artoria quickly explained the horrors of [May Sickness] to Shinji.

Then, she was immediately denied by Shinji.

"May Sickness isn't the kind of illness you're worried about, Artoria!" Shinji said with a smile, waving his hand. "Besides, how could someone as diligent and hardworking as me get May Sickness? Illya, that brat, is more like it."

"..."

Seeing Artoria's face flushed red and her standing there in utter embarrassment, Shinji quickly stopped laughing.

"Uh, Artoria, I didn't mean it like that... Um, what are you doing?"

Artoria, trembling all over, silently closed the front door again, blocking Shinji outside.

"I'm sorry, Master. You might have to wait a little longer to come inside."

Artoria turned back to Shinji with a smile that held no mirth, then, carrying the golden Excalibur in one hand, she menacingly strode into the Matou residence.

That day, a giant pillar of light rose over the residential area of Fuyuki City.

According to post-incident investigations, the explosion was caused by a gas leak.

Chapter 41: Toho Cinema: True Fragrance!!

The 56th Cannes Film Festival concluded successfully, and Shinji returned to Japan, but the storm FSN had stirred up in Europe and America was just beginning.

Although FSN's professional reputation had practically collapsed, the viewing craze it sparked made it overshadow even the award-winning films during the festival.

Years later, when people look back at this film festival, they might not remember which film won the Palme d'Or, nor who won Best Actor or Actress, but FSN's debut will be a topic of endless discussion for countless people.

As a qualified entertainment manager, Chloe's instincts in promotion, even if not as sharp as Shinji's, were still top-notch in the industry.

Leveraging the positive audience reception from the film's screening at Cannes, Chloe designated a rather aggressive promotional plan.

The film would be released in major film markets across Europe and America in early June, not as a limited release, but on a massive scale.

Chloe knew the importance of striking while the iron was hot, preparing to present this grand gift to European and American audiences when their curiosity about FSN was at its peak.

To cooperate with the Jidai Group's distribution plan, Shinji didn't rest after returning to Japan.

He, along with several main actors from FSN, frequently participated in the creation of various promotional materials, from shooting movie posters to recording interviews, covering everything to cheer for FSN's upcoming global release.

As Jidai Group's promotion of FSN in Europe and America was in full swing, the film was also doing exceptionally well in Japan.

With the box office for the film continuing to soar in Japan, even the Toho cinema chain, which had previously refused to screen FSN, "surrendered" and began showing Fate in its theaters.

It wasn't that the Toho cinema chain had a change of heart like a stubborn king, but rather that the executive manager of Toho's cinema chain, faced with FSN's mouth-watering box office numbers and the "strong public opinion" of his staff, had no choice but to compromise.

From the perspective of the Toho cinema chain employees, why should their department's performance be sacrificed because the promotion department was sucking up to film critics?

Would the promotion department cover the sales lost by FSN?

"Idiots in the promotion department! How can we run a movie theater properly when we're stuck with vermin like you?!"

The executive manager of Toho's cinema chain understood the Japanese film market all too well. The total box office revenue in Japan had long since hit a ceiling.

In essence, every film released in Japan was fighting for the box office of other films.

While Japan saw films grossing over ten billion yen annually, the box office for each individual film was extremely competitive.

Therefore, for movie theaters, any film with the potential to gross over ten billion yen should not be missed.

However, the cinema chain department's decision to screen FSN was tantamount to slapping the promotion department in the face.

They had solemnly sworn to the film critics, "Toho Company will not make money at the box office, and even if we go bankrupt, we will not screen that garbage film." Yet, the cinema chain department surrendered in less than a month, showing more backbone than the French.

However, when the executive manager of the promotion department approached the executive manager of the cinema chain department and asked them to take the film down as soon as possible, he was met with a negative response.

The cinema chain manager spread his hands and said in a very helpless tone, "Sorry, you have your OKRs, and I have my KPIs. Besides, building good relationships with film critics isn't my department's target. What do I care if the film critics flip the table?"

Of course, out of consideration for their colleagues, the cinema chain department didn't completely shut the door.

"If you can convince the board to lower our targets for this year, then we can discuss anything. Let alone taking down FSN, we could even play movies backward."

And then... that was the end of it.

The promotion department, having nothing better to do, went to the board with such an outrageous request. The cinema chain was the largest source of income for the entire Toho company.

Even though he was on the same level as the old fox from the cinema chain department, if the cinema chain department was the board's favorite son, then his promotion department wasn't even considered an illegitimate child.