Don't Call Me Master, Call Me Director

"Just like how the director left the rotting Ore Department and led everyone to start anew in the Modern Magecraft Department! We also need to build a brand new propaganda team that belongs only to us!"

Listening to Chloe's speech, Shinji curled his lips and said, "Tch, isn't this just repeating my words verbatim?"

The conference room was very quiet at this moment, and everyone heard Shinji's words.

Chloe narrowed her eyes and asked in a dangerous tone, "Shinji, what are you talking about?"

Shinji looked up and met Chloe's gaze, then replied without blushing or skipping a beat.

"I said, Sister Chloe, you're brilliant."

Chapter 48: Zouken: I'm Not a Demon

Since Touko still needed to assemble her team, Shinji did not bring her back to Japan.

However, Shinji's two return tickets were not wasted, and his new secretary, Ophelia, perfectly filled Touko's vacancy.

Upon returning to Japan, Shinji did not relax due to FSN's near-perfect box office performance. Instead, he became even busier with the preparations for FZ.

During Shinji's absence from Japan, Zouken had specifically compiled a list of Mage families he could cooperate with.

Among these individuals were those who simply wanted to make a fortune, those who coveted the Fuyuki City Holy Grail War ritual, and even those who were determined to send their own daughters to Second Master's bedroom.

Shinji obviously could not accept all the families on the list. His priority was for purely economic cooperation and those willing to rent or sell their Ley Lines.

Filming FZ would inevitably require summoning new Heroic Spirits, but given the current state of Fuyuki City's Ley Lines, summoning seven Servants was already the limit.

The best way to expand the Servant team was to connect other Ley Lines to Fuyuki City's Ley Lines. By channeling Magic into Fuyuki City's Ley Lines, the total amount of Magic in Fuyuki City's Ley Lines could be increased.

This plan had many similarities to FGO's Chaldea attempting to directly connect to Earth's Great Ley Lines to support its ability to summon more Heroic Spirits, both aiming to expand the number of summoned Heroic Spirits.

However, Chaldea's method was not only extremely costly but also very inhumane. The reserve Masters used in the experiments were all melted into Earth's Ley Lines, becoming one with Miss Tanaka (Gaia).

Shinji did not want to become a murderer himself, so he naturally would not adopt Chaldea's crude method.

Fortunately, he was not facing a world-ending crisis, and there were no requirements for the Heroic Spirits' strength. As long as they could be summoned and used, it was fine.

In fact, under normal circumstances, connecting the Magic of several Ley Lines was a very dangerous endeavor. Too much Magic accumulating in the Ley Lines could easily lead to a spectacular scene of "nuclear winter in Fuyuki City."

Fortunately, the Heroic Spirits were like floodgates. With them consuming the Ley Lines' Magic, there would only be a shortage of Magic, not an excess.

As a qualified capitalist, Shinji did not let his subordinates slack off while he was busy.

All the Heroic Spirits were bundled up by Shinji and sent to acting classes to hone their Acting Skills.

Among them, Artoria, who Shinji considered his future cash cow, was even arranged to work on a late-night drama, sharpening her Acting Skills by directly appearing in the series.

Of course, considering Artoria's immature Acting Skills, Shinji did not have her perform any high-difficulty actions. He simply had King Arthur showcase her specialty—eating.

Shinji modeled it after the hit late-night drama "The Solitary Gourmet" from his previous life, creating "The Solitary King Arthur."

Artoria would visit various restaurants in Fuyuki City, introducing the city's cuisine to the entire Japanese population.

If you don't consider how much she ate, Artoria's elegant yet substantial eating posture was quite cute, enough to attract a large audience.

Coupled with Artoria's current popularity in Japan, it was believed that even if this drama didn't become a huge hit, it wouldn't flop at least.

Anyway, it was a late-night slot, so the ratings wouldn't be too bad no matter how poor they were.

Shinji chose a food drama not only to train Artoria but also to indirectly promote Fuyuki City through the TV series.

With the immense popularity of FSN, the number of tourists visiting Fuyuki City for pilgrimage was increasing daily. Promoting the restaurants in Fuyuki City was also Shinji's way of taking care of his hometown.

While Shinji was running all over Japan and the Heroic Spirits were diligently honing their Acting Skills, the elders who remained in Fuyuki City gathered to discuss the FZ filming matters.

"Hmm, this thing called the internet is really convenient. Even across half the globe, we can still talk face-to-face. It's not without reason that Shinji believes it's the future trend," commented Kenseth on the video call, displayed on a screen beside the tea table.

"Alright, Patriarch El-Melloi. We're not gathered here to evaluate the uses of the internet," Tokiomi Tohsaka, who was farthest from the screen, said in a calm tone. "Magecraft can also accomplish things of this magnitude."

Kariya directly sneered, "And then you'd turn into a dried-up husk from Magic depletion after saying a few words? Tokiomi Tohsaka, you're still as pedantic as a stone."

Although Kariya had long since come to terms with his past romantic failure, he still felt extremely annoyed by Tokiomi and seized any opportunity to diss him.

Tokiomi scornfully said, "Matou Kariya, I thought you could distinguish between primary and secondary contradictions."

"What did you say?!"

Kariya instantly exploded.

Kiritsugu quickly stepped in to mediate, "You two, say less. Don't forget why we gathered here today."

It had been some time since Shinji submitted the FZ proposal, and the Master actors had already read the plot outline.

The reason they had gathered was simple: to find a way to make Shinji revise the plot.

After all, the fates of the few of them in the FZ story were miserable, one after another.

Tokiomi, betrayed by his disciple, was considered lucky; at least he died swiftly. Kenseth was first paralyzed, then betrayed and tricked in various ways, and finally, he couldn't even die peacefully. Kiritsugu also lost everything in the script, and even after the story ended, he suffered from illness for several more years. Kariya was even more tragic, dying without even a corpse.

Although they all knew that the events in the script were fake, no one could remain calm seeing themselves die so miserably in the story.

"Although the prequel story's tone for FZ was written based on FSN, I believe none of you can accept the process," Tokiomi said concisely. "If we have to die, we should at least die spectacularly, not so... pathetically."

As he said this, Tokiomi glanced at Kirei Kotomine, who was also attending the meeting.

Ever since he read the script, he found it hard to look directly at the son of his old friend, a knot always forming in his heart, fearing the other might suddenly pull out a knife and stab him.

As for Kirei himself, he didn't notice Tokiomi looking at him. He stared quietly at the table, his mind filled with thoughts of which restaurant's Mapo Tofu he'd eat at after this was over.

Swish—

The room door opened, and Matou Zouken and Irisviel walked in, chatting and laughing.

"Kiritsugu."

Irisviel grabbed her husband's arm and said excitedly, "Mr. Matou just told me that he thinks we can fence off the entire back mountain for renovations. If we do that, won't our home be filled with film crews shooting movies everywhere?"

Kiritsugu thought for a long time, and finally just smiled simply, "As long as you're happy."

Matou Zouken, meanwhile, tapped the ground with his cane, smiled as he looked around at everyone present, and then slowly sat down next to Kariya.

"So, everyone's here. Since the Holy Grail War stopped being held, it feels like the heads of our three families haven't gathered like this in a while. Shinji has done well."

The old man said slowly, a hint of pride in his voice.

A flicker of anxiety crossed Tokiomi's face. He asked probing questions, "Elder Matou. Have you seen the proposal yet?"

"Of course, I have," Zouken nodded. "To tell you the truth, I saw it even earlier than you all did."

Tokiomi quickly followed up, "Then what are your thoughts on the script?"

The best way to change the script, Tokiomi thought, was for Matou Zouken to take the lead, with all the elders opposing it.

Tokiomi didn't believe that, with the unanimous opposition of all the elders, Shinji would dare to go against public opinion and insist on the original plan.

As for whether Matou Zouken would agree, Tokiomi thought he would.

After all, the Matou Zouken in the proposal script was blackened beyond measure. To be so belittled by his own grandson, Tokiomi didn't believe Zouken would accept it with a smile.

In the end, Old Man Zouken actually accepted the script with a smile.

"Isn't the script quite good? Compared to FSN, this filming has more grand scenes, and the effect will surely be more spectacular than FSN."

"But the plot..."

"The plot is quite good," Zouken deliberately feigned ignorance. "Compared to FSN, this script is more serious, more like a war of mutual slaughter."

"Besides, since it's a brilliant script made by my good grandson, of course, I'll support it with both hands and feet!" Zouken declared his doting on his grandson to everyone present.

"Dad, at your age, you can still lift it?" Kariya loudly quipped.

"Stupid son, I was talking about my cane, what did you think I meant?"

"Um... I was also talking about your cane. Aren't you tired from lifting both your hands and your cane?"

Smack.

Kariya's head was hit by Zouken's cane.

"Elder Matou... that... it's just... I think..."

Tokiomi's expression on the other side was a little unsightly. He quickly signaled Kiritsugu and Kariya, asking them to speak up for him.

Useless fellow, a fool who dares not be the first bird.

Kariya curled his lips, despising Tokiomi even more.

"Dad," Kariya said instead of Tokiomi, "I think... the script's direction is a bit too dark, and the style is too different from the last movie. Wouldn't it be better to change it?"

"Change what?"

Zouken deliberately shook his head and swayed his body in a tone of sudden realization. "I know, you're afraid you won't be able to hold your head up if people find out about you being robbed of your love, right?"

Smack.

Zouken hit Kariya's head with his cane.

"Look at your spinelessness, reflect on yourself properly."

"..."

Tokiomi, listening to Zouken's words, felt very uncomfortable. His expression clearly said, "Old man, just give them my ID number."

Should I try the Yayoi family's? Although the spiciness is average, their numbing flavor is superb.

Kirei, the Mapo Tofu person, still sat properly in his seat, completely ignoring everyone else.

These idiots are all unreliable, it has to be me.

Seeing that both Tokiomi and Kariya were silenced after being rebuffed, Kiritsugu pressed his cigarette into the ashtray, deciding to take matters into his own hands.

He looked up and said to Zouken, "Head of the Matou Family, I think it's better to revise the script. The head of the El-Melloi family is, after all, a major investor in our initial stage. Isn't the treatment he gets in this movie a bit excessive?"

"No, no."

Kenseth, participating in the meeting via video, waved his hand. "Shinji has already discussed it with me. I will personally designate the actor for Sola."

Although Kenseth didn't say who the person was, judging by his beaming expression, he probably already had someone in mind.

Seeing Kenseth's expression, the people present turned grim.

Tsk! Women, the cause of all trouble!

Tokiomi frowned and clicked his tongue.

[He wouldn't forget that his Servant would seduce that character, would he?]

Kiritsugu felt he should have a good talk with Kenseth, or perhaps, just like in the script, leave him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

[Shinji! You really are a professional uncle-ruiner!]

Kariya made another note about his dear nephew in his ledger.

[Ah, the tea leaves are standing up. Looks like something good will happen later. It seems Kiritsugu also really wants to film with me.]

Irisviel held her teacup with a smile.

[Hmm... maybe I should choose the Xiangwei family instead. Their tofu has enough fragrance and more spices. Wait... I remember Lin Ji has green Mapo Tofu, right?]

Kirei was still undecided about his Mapo Tofu.

Chapter 49: Artoria: Who told Master to yell in the room?

"Mmm..."

Shinji groggily opened his eyes. He looked around and found himself lying on his own bed.

"Am I hungover again? Wait... why did I say 'again'?"

Grumble~

A distorted sound came from Shinji's stomach. He rubbed his belly hard.

"I'm so hungry... How long has it been since I ate anything."

Shinji rubbed his stomach and got out of bed with a resentful look.

"I feel like I can try Uncle Hai's roasted whole beef special today..."

Grumble~