Don't Call Me Master, Call Me Director

"Ah, you have to show me some consideration too, King Gilgamesh," Shinji quickly explained. "It's not like I have a choice~ To film a movie for you and Enkidu, the first thing we need to do is build up your popularity. Otherwise, no one will watch your movie when it's made."

Gilgamesh didn't believe Shinji's nonsense at all. He raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Is my popularity not enough now? Don't think I don't know you're using my pictures to scam people!"

Shinji fiddled with his fingers, distractedly explaining, "It's just that the popularity among Japanese housewives is still a bit lacking. Otherwise, EA's toys wouldn't sell as well as Caliburn."

"Hmph!"

Gilgamesh snorted forcefully through his nostrils, the sound so loud that Shinji genuinely feared he might sneeze.

"If you really can't stand it, Gilgamesh, and want to act with Enkidu soon, then I do have a solution. I can add flashback scenes of you in the movie and arrange for Enkidu to appear."

"Huh?"

Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed, a hint of vigilance mixed with his displeasure.

Unsolicited kindness must have ulterior motives.

Gilgamesh knew Shinji's nature too well. Would he, Shinji, really go to such lengths as to summon Enkidu just to film a few scenes? It was too disadvantageous for him.

As expected, after making his suggestion, Shinji directly pulled Yan Qing over.

"However, given our limited movie production budget, we can only have Xiao Yi Ge dress up. At that time, Gilgamesh, you'll just pretend you've had too much to drink and go with the flow."

"I'll (W) beat (D) you (N) to (M) death (D)!! Shinji, do you believe I'll hang you with this oldest rope in the world!!"

Saying that, the enraged Gilgamesh lunged directly at Shinji.

"Hey! This is all for your own good! You were the one who said you wanted to film with Enkidu..."

Bang!

Before Shinji could finish speaking, Gilgamesh's fist landed, and the conference room descended into chaos.

Chapter 43: Damn! Matou Shinji!

Under the protection of the loyal Heroic Spirits Artoria, Cu Chulainn, and Heracles, Shinji was ultimately not strangled to death by Gilgamesh.

After a commotion, both sides decided to compromise, reaching a tentative agreement.

Gilgamesh would star in the FZ movie and provide the Noble Phantasms needed for filming.

In return, Shinji promised to expedite the preparations for the Gilgamesh and Enkidu movie, aiming to start production within three years.

"Brother, are you sure about making such a promise?"

On the way home, Sakura asked with some concern.

A dejected Shinji grinned and said, "It's fine. I didn't promise I'd be the one filming it anyway. I'll just find a production crew with a male duo, stuff Gilgamesh and his green-haired buddy in there."

Sakura tilted her head, confused, and asked, "Besides you, would anyone else film a movie in Fuyuki City?"

Shinji proudly raised his eyebrows, "Why wouldn't they? There will be many more in the future."

"So... Shinji, you've come back to find me?"

In the Matou residence living room, Matou Zouken stared speechlessly at Shinji, who sat opposite him with a smile.

"Since FSN was successful, it's time to move on to the second phase, Grandpa."

Shinji rested his chin on the back of his hand, grinning.

The second phase he spoke of was to leverage the influence of the successful movie, the cost-effectiveness of the Heroic Spirit actors, and the excellent post-production team of magicians to attract other film crews to Fuyuki City.

Of course, entering the second phase required Fuyuki City's infrastructure to keep up.

This not only required the Type-Moon company to recruit a large number of magician employees but also for Fuyuki City to have professional and complete film studios.

"For the indoor scenes, we can use the large warehouse where we filmed FSN before. For the outdoor scenes... Grandpa, what do you think of the mountains behind Fuyuki City?"

Hearing his grandson's one-sided planning, Matou Zouken shook his head slightly.

"That's the private land of the Einzbern family. If you want to break ground there, you'll have to get their permission first."

Shinji pushed the FZ proposal forward, confident, "No problem. As long as I use their couple as the male and female leads as bait, I'm not afraid Irisviel won't take the bait."

Given Irisviel's eccentric personality, as long as Shinji proposed the fun idea of them filming a movie together, she would probably agree without a second's hesitation.

"Anyone who knows you, kid, is truly pitiful. They're all completely under your thumb."

"Oh stop, Grandpa." Shinji chuckled twice. "This is a mutually beneficial matter."

"Is that so... However, Shinji." Zouken's smile suddenly vanished. He pointed at the FZ proposal, "Do you have any complaints about Grandpa? You've written me up as so terrifying."

"Oh, Grandpa. What does what Makiri Zolgen did have to do with you, Matou Zouken?"

Crack.

Zouken hit Shinji's head with his cane.

"Don't be disrespectful, kid. That person is your ancestor, after all," Zouken reminded him.

"If you really don't want to, Grandpa, then I'll change the script so that Uncle becomes corrupted and falls into evil ways because of heartbreak."

Shinji was always easygoing with his own family.

Anyway, this version of FZ didn't have a strict requirement to connect to the HF route, so it wasn't a problem for Uncle to suffer a bit.

"Shinji, you really are your uncle's nephew."

"Where, thank you Grandpa for your praise."

"Kid, I wasn't praising you!"

Zang Yan, angered, picked up his cane again.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Shinji's talk with his grandfather wasn't to give the old man high blood pressure, but rather to ask him to help find some Japanese magus families to cooperate with.

As FSN's fame grew, Japanese magus families became increasingly eager to connect with the Matou family.

Shinji hoped his grandfather could select suitable partners from these families.

After all, Shinji would need more and more magi in the future, and cooperating with local Japanese magi was inevitable.

His grandfather had broad connections in the Japanese magus community, making him the perfect person to negotiate with them.

If Shinji had been the one begging them for cooperation before, now they were the ones begging to be brought along by Shinji.

Shinji believed that with his grandfather's seasoned nature, he would definitely secure the best terms for the Matou family.

After finishing his conversation with Zang Yan, Shinji returned to his room and slept soundly.

It wasn't until evening, when he could no longer close his eyes, that Shinji slowly got out of bed.

Looking at the orange-red sunset outside the window, Shinji suddenly remembered that he hadn't paid attention to a certain senpai in a long time.

So, Shinji abandoned his plan to have dinner at home and ambled out of the Matou residence to find Touko.

After several months, Touko, who had moved to Fuyuki City, had completely adapted to her new identity and role.

Although Shinji hadn't assigned Touko any tasks during this time, she hadn't been idle at all.

As a magus pursuing the path of magic, Touko's thirst for mysterious knowledge was endless, and Fuyuki City happened to offer her an inexhaustible supply of it.

This was because those Heroic Spirits who had lived in the Age of Gods were like living dictionaries of ancient magecraft.

After spending time with the likes of Cu Chulainn daily, Touko felt her accumulation of magical knowledge had greatly increased, and her magecraft had also improved significantly.

Especially the Celestial Empire's Taoist magic known by Yan Qing and Cu Chulainn's Runic magic, both of which had greatly inspired Touko.

She received a monthly salary (the base salary Shinji provided) without doing any work, and could also gain knowledge from the Heroic Spirits to enrich herself.

This perfect life of researching mysteries made Touko reluctant to leave; even if someone tried to drive her away, Touko wouldn't leave Fuyuki City.

When Shinji found Touko, she was working in her studio.

Touko was completely sprawled on the workbench, carving a wooden board with her right hand while holding a pen in her left, constantly recording something on paper.

Seeing Touko busy, Shinji didn't approach immediately but stood at the doorway watching.

Perhaps because the studio was too hot, Touko casually tied her work clothes around her waist, wearing only a white strapless tank top, which was quite a feast for Shinji's eyes.

The only thing that disappointed Nii-san was Touko's figure. Although her figure was already excellent compared to Miss Rin, it was still a little lacking compared to the voluptuous mature older sister in Shinji's memory.

It seems the rumors that Touko secretly uses padding when making her doll bodies are true.

Since magic had declined in this world, Touko was naturally not using a doll body now, which also allowed Shinji to witness the flaws of the "original."

However, unless Shinji had lost his mind, he wouldn't voice his thoughts.

Only when Touko stopped her work and looked up to wipe her sweat did Shinji call out.

"Senpai, you're busy."

Touko turned her head upon hearing the voice, and a smile immediately appeared on her face when she saw it was Shinji.

"So you're here, Kouhai."

"Yeah."

Shinji didn't stand on ceremony and directly pulled over a chair to sit opposite Touko.

Touko put her work clothes back on and elegantly lit a cigarette.

"You're finally free from your busy schedule to come see me today."

Touko's tone was hard to describe, carrying a hint of melancholy, as if she were a neglected pet.

However, this wasn't dissatisfaction with Shinji; otherwise, she wouldn't have smiled at him. Touko's words were more like a slight complaint.

She had been tricked by Shinji with the lure of fighting the old man into this unfamiliar city, only for him to be busy with his own affairs and leave her aside.

If Shinji hadn't paid her salary every month and given her the unique opportunity to discuss magecraft with Heroic Spirits, she would have left long ago if treated this way by anyone else.

Especially since Shinji hadn't visited her in over a month, Touko naturally felt a little emotional.

But now that she could see Shinji, Touko was quite happy; at least it meant she hadn't been completely forgotten by this Kouhai.

Shinji heard the hidden emotions in Touko's words. He found it a bit amusing that the doll master, who appeared indifferent to outsiders, would tease him like a tsundere girl.

However, their relationship wasn't that close yet, and Shinji couldn't tease Touko like he would tease Rin.

Therefore, he could only offer a gentlemanly smile and say, "It seems Senpai is enjoying your stay in Fuyuki City. I apologize for not taking care of you during this time as I've been too busy with my own matters."

"It's good that you know," Touko squinted and let out a lazy hum. "Well, as long as the salary is paid, I have no complaints. After all, there are advantages here that can't be found elsewhere."

"I'm glad you like Fuyuki City, Senpai."

Orange ignored Shinji's flattery and asked strangely, "Then why do you have time to see me today? I heard from Cú Chulainn and the others that you should be very busy during this period."

Shinji replied, "Because I missed you, senpai, so I'm treating you to dinner."

Orange raised an eyebrow. "You're that kind? You aren't planning to get me drunk and do something unspeakable, are you?"

"I would never do that."

Master of Alcoholism, Lord El-Melloi II, quickly denied it.

"I just think that we, senpai and kouhai, need to strengthen our bond."

Orange's gaze at Shinji was still filled with deep suspicion.

"Senpai, what do you even think of me? How could I do something so filthy?"

"You have no right to say that after harassing all the Clock Tower girls."

Orange frowned, looking somewhat displeased.

Shinji raised his hands in a French salute. "Alright, alright. Senpai, just consider it my bribe."

"A bribe?"

"Yes, I need to go to the Clock Tower next, and I want to ask you to come with me."

Shinji smiled and stated his purpose.

Meanwhile, at the Modern Magecraft Department of the Clock Tower.

"Achoo!"

Kotomine Kirei and Waver Velvet sneezed simultaneously in the office.

"Why am I sneezing too?"

Kotomine Kirei rubbed his nose and said unhappily.