Don't Call Me Master, Call Me Director Chapter 47

The woman standing beside Kenseth covered her mouth and chuckled. "Hehe, so this is Matou Shinji, the one you've been talking about all this time, Kenseth... He really is an interesting person."

Shinji gave her a quick once-over, then shook her hand in a gentlemanly manner before immediately letting go and keeping his distance.

This was Kirei Kotomine's woman. Shinji had no intention of doing anything that might make Kenseth misunderstand.

Shinji dipped slightly and greeted the pink-haired woman. "You must be Miss Achillort, right? Nice to meet you."

This woman, Li, was the daughter of the head of the Clock Tower's Department of Botany, as well as Kirei Kotomine's current fiancée.

The reason she was his current fiancée was naturally because his former fiancée, Sola, had not ended up with Kirei Kotomine.

This had nothing to do with Shinji. Long before he went to study at the Clock Tower, Kenseth had already fallen out with his former fiancée.

The exact reason was unknown. After all, the man in that failed marriage was one of the Twelve Lords, while the woman's father was not only one of the Twelve Lords but also one of the Three Giants. Naturally, no one dared gossip about it.

Kirei Kotomine had only recently found his current fiancée. It seemed he had completely moved on from that unsuccessful engagement.

But she was not to be underestimated. Miss Li was no lowborn girl who had climbed the social ladder. She was a phoenix born into a prestigious family herself—the Achillort Family currently held power over the Clock Tower's Department of Botany.

However, that family had always been rather unconventional. Though they were typical representatives of the Aristocratic Faction, they had close ties with the media and had even dabbled in the Arms Trade. They were considered the Enlightened Faction among the Aristocratic Faction—probably one reason Kenseth had been willing to become engaged to Miss Li.

Miss Li herself was no pushover either. Despite being a mage, she had always wanted to become an actress and had spent many years working in Britain's entertainment industry.

The most important reason Kenseth had agreed to appear in FZ was that Shinji had agreed to let Li play the role of "Sola" in the film.

In Shinji's opinion, although Kirei Kotomine was already in his thirties, his methods of wooing girls were only one level above "making the girl you like cry in elementary school."

If bringing his fiancée onto the battlefield in FZ could still be excused as something from a Parallel world, then what kind of move was it to have his current fiancée play his former fiancée?

Forget it. As long as Kenseth himself is happy.

Shinji decided to put Kenseth's thoughts aside. It was not like he was the one who would fail to get married, so why should he worry himself sick over that lemon head?

Meanwhile, Ria Acherlot took the initiative to return Shinji's greeting. "It's an honor to work with you, Director Matou. I'm very happy to join such an outstanding production team."

As she spoke, Miss Li offered a brilliant smile, hoping to leave a good impression on Shinji.

FSN had already grossed 500 million dollars worldwide. Calling that a massive profit would not be an exaggeration; at the very least, it ranked among the best in film history.

And Artoria from the film had already become a household name among Europeans. People might not know what their own mayor looked like, but they would definitely recognize a female King Arthur with blonde hair and blue eyes.

It was absolutely necessary to maintain a good relationship with such a heavyweight director.

"I hope we'll have a pleasant time working together."

"Of course." Shinji maintained his gentlemanly smile. "I'm sure Miss Achillort will come to enjoy this experience. Kenseth has made quite a few requests on your behalf."

Since Kenseth was standing a little ahead of her, he secretly raised a thumb behind his back toward Shinji. The meaning was obvious: "You're a good man, brother."

But before Kenseth could finish praising Shinji's support for him in his heart, Second Master started tearing into him.

"Kenseth is rather immature when it comes to relationships. Many of the demands he made of me were completely unreasonable. It must be hard on you, taking care of such an overgrown child."

Naturally, Kenseth's thumb, raised behind his back, slowly turned downward.

Shinji ignored Kirei Kotomine's antics and instead introduced Diarmuid to him.

They would be partners throughout the upcoming shoot, so Shinji thought it would be better for them to get acquainted first.

As for Second Master, he turned toward Waver and gave his shoulder a hard slap.

"Yo, Waver. Long time no see!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Waver rubbed his shoulder and snapped unhappily. "Didn't we just meet in June?"

Shinji smiled maliciously. "I just wanted to get a good look at what you look like now and burn that face into my memory."

"What are you planning?"

Sensing that something was wrong, Waver took a step back, only for his back to hit a wall.

No, it was not a wall, but a burly man over two meters tall.

"Hahaha, so you're the kid?" Iskandar let out a hearty laugh. "I'll be in your care for the time ahead."

"In your care... my ass! What are you doing, Shinji?!"

Shinji's lips curled slightly. "Waver, what goes around comes around. Back at Cannes, you used Lizzie to screw me over, didn't you? Now it's my turn."

"What are you—"

Waver had barely opened his mouth before the big man behind him stuffed something into it with his rough hand.

"Cough, cough! What is this? Alcohol?"

Waver stared at the bottle being pulled from his mouth, and the strange taste lingering there filled him with a trace of panic.

"Alcohol? Of course not. This is Aptx-4869."

"What the hell is that?"

Very quickly, Waver felt his eyelids grow unbearably heavy. His head became muddled, and his footing turned unsteady.

"Get a good night's sleep, Waver. When you wake up, it'll be a whole new world."

"You..."

Waver failed to finish his sentence. His vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

Chapter 53: This Thing Would Definitely Be Popular in Britain

I was Waver Velvet, lecturer of the Clock Tower's Modern Magecraft Department. When I traveled to Japan for work with my teacher, Kenseth El-Melloi Archibald, I was set up by some bastard.

At the time, I had only been on guard against the man himself and overlooked the hulking figure coming from behind. That person restrained me and forcibly poured a bottle of strange medicine down my throat. When I woke up...

My body had actually shrunk!

Bang!

A black Magic Bullet flew straight at Shinji's forehead as he passionately delivered his speech, only for him to casually swat it away with a book.

"What's wrong? You don't like this development?" Shinji grinned as he teased the little runt in front of him. "I think the TV series Mage Detective Waver will become quite famous."

"Famous my ass!"

Waver, who had already turned into a teenager, was so furious he wanted to leap up and kick Shinji in the face, but Shinji simply pressed a hand against his head, leaving him unable to move.

It had to be said that teenage Waver was genuinely tiny, completely outclassed by Second Master in every respect.

"Waver, you've really changed a lot... Don't tell me you got inflated by magecraft after turning twenty?"

Shinji looked at Waver, who was a full half-head shorter than himself, and asked with great interest.

The Rejuvenation drug he had made Waver drink had been specially designed to ensure that Waver's body would remain stable at the age of nineteen.

But though he was supposedly nineteen, Waver currently looked even younger than Shinji. He was utterly unlike the tall figure he had been before drinking the medicine, and didn't resemble an early-developing Westerner at all.

"You..."

Seeing that he was incapable of launching any effective attack against Shinji, Waver's entire face turned red.

"Oh, come on. Waver, no need to get so worked up~" Shinji continued with a cheeky grin. "This is for testing purposes, after all."

"Testing?"

Shinji nodded. "As an important character in the movie, you'll be playing the entire film at this age. So we need to test in advance just how long a single dose of the Rejuvenation drug will last."

"I see, so you're treating me like a White mouse... Then why don't you use yourself as the White mouse, Shinji?!"

"Well, you have a lot of screen time. If something like drug resistance shows up later, we'll know in advance."

Waver felt as if the twitching at the corner of his mouth had turned into a cramp. "So no matter what excuse you come up with, Shinji, you'll always have a reason, right?"

"Of course."

Shinji admitted it without the slightest hesitation.

That bastard had joined forces with his Second Uncle to screw him over in Cannes. Since they had dug a pit for him, they had better be prepared to be buried alive in one themselves.

"Teacher..."

Waver looked at Kenseth with a troubled expression, only to discover that the man was leisurely discussing something with his fiancée.

Hearing Waver's voice, Kenseth looked up and said casually, "Waver, make a small sacrifice and follow Shinji's arrangements. It's all for the image of our Modern Magecraft Department."

"..."

This teacher is beyond saving. Might as well bury him.

Waver sighed, holding his forehead.

His teacher had always been wise and formidable—except when it came to love.

Now that his fiancée had him completely bewitched, he no longer had any intention of managing Waver at all.

Women really are a source of disaster!

Watching Kenseth lose himself in love, Waver became even more determined to remain single for the rest of his life.

Yet being forced to drink medicine was not even the most agonizing thing that had happened to him today.

"Waver, there are still a few days before filming officially begins. During this time, adjust your condition and get into character as quickly as possible."

After hearing Shinji's words, Waver sighed in resignation.

"Understood. I'll cooperate with your work."

Though he had countless complaints both aloud and in his heart, his pride would not allow him to be careless about work.

He could only blame himself for choosing the wrong teacher, picking an unreliable man obsessed with love, and getting acquainted with an absurd person like Matou Shinji.

Shinji clapped his hands and smiled. "Very good. Then spend this time getting along well with Iskandar."

"Fine, I'll get along with... Wait, what did you say?"

Realizing something was wrong, Waver hurriedly asked.

"To cultivate the rapport between you two, you and Iskandar will be eating and living together for the next while."

"Shinji, you actually went and decided this on your own again—"

Before Waver could finish complaining, a large hand lifted his entire body up like an eagle snatching a chick.

"Hahaha, boy." The Great Emperor let out an ear-splitting laugh. "Come, let us get along well!"

"Wait, put me down!!"

Waver struggled and shouted.

As a self-proclaimed British gentleman, he instinctively recoiled from rough men like Iskandar.

"Then we'll go bond first!"

Iskandar tucked Waver under his arm and strode out of the room without a care.

"Will Waver be alright?"

With the last shred of conscience he had as a teacher, Kenseth quietly asked Shinji.

"A problem? How could there be a problem? They'll definitely become great partners." Shinji patted his chest in assurance. "Maybe when Filming ends and it's time to part ways, Waver will even cry his eyes out."

"If that happens, please make sure to record it for me," Kenseth added. "Ever since graduation, that boy has become less and less lovable."

[Probably because there are too many unreliable people around him.]

Considering that he himself was one of the people around Waver, Shinji did not say it aloud.

"Kenseth, Miss Achillort. Let's go."

Shinji led the way out of the office. Once Kenseth and the others caught up, he said, "I'll introduce you to the other Lead Actors, as well as the members of my Filming team."

With Kenseth and the other two joining the Filming team, all of FZ's main cast had officially entered the production crew, and the FZ production truly entered its filming phase.

After taking Kenseth and the others around the set, Shinji finally brought them to the area for Actor rehearsal, where they found Artoria and Diarmuid preparing for filming.

Kenseth had already seen the two Heroic Spirits at the station, but only in passing. Now that his spirit of inquiry as a mage had been stirred, he intended to properly observe and analyze them.

In the current Mage world, these Servants were the closest thing to an achievement of the Third Magic.

Even though Kenseth did not specialize in the Third Magic, he could not suppress his curiosity and desire to explore the mysterious.

Shinji naturally agreed to Director Kirei's request.

So, while Kenseth studied the two Servants, Shinji stayed nearby with Ria Acherlot, discussing the specific details of filming along the way.

"Regarding the role of [Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri] in the film, Miss Achillort, are you sure you want to use her original appearance and name?"