Don't Call Me Master, Call Me Director

Although Servants are made of Magic, apart from characteristics like being able to Spiritualize and disappearing after death, they are truly just like ordinary people.

They get injured, they bleed, and they sweat just the same.

Therefore, using Heroic Spirits as actors is truly a brilliant idea. Shinji was immensely proud of himself for coming up with it.

Heroic Spirits have excellent Heroic Spirit Martial Arts, their bodies won't go out of shape, their appearances won't age, and their Filming Fees won't be too expensive—all you need to provide is Food and Lodging and Pocket Money.

Aside from needing to cultivate their Acting Skills and enduring their peculiar tempers, as long as their Magic is guaranteed, Heroic Spirits are truly the perfect actor candidates in the eyes of all Film Companies and Film Crews.

"Perhaps I could specifically open a Heroic Spirit Management Company?"

With that thought, Master Shinji's gaze towards his own Heroic Spirits became even more fervent.

"Shinji, you really treat them differently," Shirou muttered in complaint.

Shinji shot him a glance, "This is called Gentlemanly Demeanor."

"Shirou, this is what we call Deeply Ingrained Nature," Young Lady Rin said, crossing her arms and teasing him, "Right? Mr. Pervert who hits on all the women at the Clock Tower."

Shinji argued, "That's just a Rumor! I didn't hit on all women! I only hit on the vast majority of single women at the Clock Tower between the ages of 16 and 35!"

Rin's mouth twitched twice, "What's the difference!!"

Master Shinji raised a finger and said very seriously, "Of course there's a difference. Not hitting on girls who are too young shows I'm not a Beast. Only hitting on single women shows Second Master is a Pure Love War God."

"To speak so righteously about lewd things, Shinji, you truly are something," Shirou was genuinely surprised by his childhood friend's thick skin.

Young Lady Rin, on the other hand, put her hand to her forehead and sighed, "You disgrace of Fuyuki City, what will people say about me when I go to study at the Clock Tower in the future? That I'm from the same place as that incredibly famous pervert?"

"If you encounter bullying, just go find Waver. He'll be happy to resolve it."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

Rin's eyelids twitched unnaturally.

"Older Brother, you guys were just talking about hitting on people..."

Sakura suddenly appeared behind Shinji, her face grim as she pressed him for an answer.

"Ahhh! Uncle Hai! Your performance just now was amazing!!"

Startled into a cold sweat by his sister, Shinji quickly moved to the other side and gave Uncle Hai, who was repairing his body, two thumbs up.

"Hmph~~"

Uncle Hai curled his lips and rubbed his nose with his thick fingers.

Although Uncle Hai had the fewest lines among all the Heroic Spirit Actors, apart from a few sentences before disappearing, it was basically all battle cries.

Perhaps due to insufficient Spirit Core Strength, Uncle Hai's Berserk state was much lower than the FSN story setting, but this was a good thing for Master Shinji.

He wasn't planning on fighting the Holy Grail War, and a rational Heracles was the kind of Uncle Hai his film crew needed.

However, Second Master's satisfaction with Uncle Hai didn't end there.

If all Heroic Spirits were quality acting prospects, then Uncle Hai was the most outstanding among them.

This simple-minded Muscle Tumbler was undoubtedly the most obedient among all the Heroic Spirit Actors. He usually sat in a corner without saying a word, worked diligently during filming, and earnestly completed any request Shinji made.

Compared to that Doggy who ran off to drink every night, Golden Gil who barely said a few words from start to finish, Rider who was always indifferent to Shinji and just sat in a corner reading, and that Big Eater who could consume the food of more than 10 people per meal... Uncle Hai could practically be considered the model Heroic Spirit Actor.

Even to achieve realistic effects, Uncle Hai voluntarily consumed his Twelve Labors, breaking an arm to film.

Fortunately, there was no Heroic Spirit Protection Association in the Nasuverse, otherwise Shinji's behavior of "they film for money, I film for my life" would surely have led to a lawsuit.

Unfortunately, such a simple and lovable Uncle Hai could never escape the role of a Tool Person Combat Power Unit in Fate's story.

It was fine in the three routes of FSN; although he was a tool to highlight others, he at least exuded an imposing presence. By the time of FGO, Uncle Hai's Twelve Labors truly became a Combat Power Unit.

How to describe the awesomeness of the Moon God Railgun? Two shots to kill Uncle Hai would suffice; how to show the power of Fairy Lancelot? Have Muramasa complain that he was defeated 12 times by the opponent.

Thus, a world where only Uncle Hai gets hurt was achieved.

Snap.

Master Shinji patted Uncle Hai's waist sympathetically (he couldn't reach his shoulder).

"Uncle Hai, you have to be strong. One day, you'll also have Sword Critical Resistance!"

"Mhm."

Heracles first glanced at Sakura in the distance, then turned his large head towards his Master and gave him a thumbs up.

"...Are you saying I have to be strong too?"

Uncle Hai slowly nodded.

"..."

A world where only Master Shinji gets hurt was achieved.

Chapter 8: The King of Knights Who Doesn't Understand Love

Although Uncle Hai showed Shinji a side of himself that was so simple-minded it made Second Master think he was a bit cunning, Uncle Hai remained Second Master's favorite Heroic Spirit Actor regardless.

What else could be done when this big dark guy was so well-behaved and obedient?

Compared to the numerous difficulties encountered during filming at the Emiya Residence, the filming set at Eizenbern Castle, despite being in a remote, inconvenient mountain forest, proceeded quite smoothly overall.

After a period of adjustment, the rookie film crew led by Shinji finally passed the initial period of confusion. They had figured out the process and standards for making movies, and the crew members had gradually found some synergy in their collaboration, leading to a continuous improvement in filming efficiency.

Although they encountered various challenges regarding props, scenery, lighting, and other aspects during filming, compared to the hellish difficulty at the Emiya Residence initially, the operation of the film crew had been much smoother during their time in the mountains.

Most importantly, Shinji, a director with only theory and zero experience, was improving at a very rapid pace.

Even though Shinji at this point could still only be considered an entry-level director, compared to his initial rookie status, he now possessed a hint of the demeanor of a great director.

However, the smoother the filming of the Eizenbern Castle portion went, the more troublesome it became for Shinji afterward.

As the filming near Eizenbern concluded, the FSN Film Crew began to split into two.

A small portion of the crew, led by the film crew's photographer, went to various locations in Fuyuki City for location shoots.

The remaining majority of the film crew members and actors followed Shinji into the studio for studio set filming.

Shinji's choice was unavoidable. After all, besides the Emiya Residence and Eizenbern Castle, the other main settings in the movie were public places.

While it wasn't impossible for the film crew to rent places like schools, there was simply no need.

This was because they would still have to return to the studio to build sets when filming Saber and Rider's fight scenes.

They couldn't possibly let Artoria and Medusa actually tear down a school, could they?

Although Shinji's dream when he was a high school student was indeed to blow up a school, he had already graduated from school now, hadn't he?

As for whether the high school students from Homonculus Academy would be angry that Shinji abandoned location shoots at the school, thus preventing them from getting their potential holiday, Shinji couldn't care less.

Students should focus on their studies and not think about holidays all the time.

Anyway, the studio filming was indoors. The few student lead actors could attend school during the day and film at night, which wouldn't delay their work at all.

The filming schedule was not delayed, and the film crew members were starting to cooperate more smoothly, but the movie's filming progress could only be described as unsatisfactory.

The main reason lay with the actors.

Even though Shinji had significantly lowered his requirements for the actors, there were still many issues.

The most critical problem was with Artoria, the lead actress. As the plot progressed, her role fit was gradually diverging from that of Saber in the story.

Saber in the latter half of the Fate Route was a girl in love, no longer the emotionally cold King of Knights who "doesn't understand people."

This made filming difficult because Artoria couldn't get into the state of a girl in love; more precisely, she didn't know how to.

It couldn't be helped. The Lady King of Knights had never been in love in her entire life. Like a certain blonde, dark-skinned undercover agent, she treated her country as her lover.

Asking this woman to portray the shyness of a girl in love in front of the camera was indeed too difficult for Artoria.

Under Shinji's guidance, Artoria had been trying very hard to emulate a woman in love, but she couldn't manage to convey that girlish feeling no matter what.

Although the strong woman pretending to be a weak girl gave Shinji a peculiar flavor and gave Artoria new cute points, this was clearly not Shinji's original intention as a director.

"Cut! This still isn't right."

In the studio, Master Shinji shouted with a very helpless tone, holding the microphone, and then he snapped his fingers at the photographer and lighting technician.

"You two come here, let's discuss it again."

Hearing Shinji call for a cut, Rin and Artoria, who were lying on the bed embracing each other, immediately sprang up and moved apart.

Shinji was currently filming the scene where Shirou and the two others escaped from the castle, and Shirou replenished magic for Artoria along the way.

"Finally, a pause."

"Yeah."

Rin and Saber sat at opposite ends of the bed, one at the head and the other at the foot, maintaining a considerable distance, showing no sign that they had just been engaging in ambiguous affection on this worn-out prop bed.

"Sigh, Master isn't satisfied again?"

Artoria looked at Shinji, who was discussing with the film crew's photographer, and sighed slightly.

Due to the bad memories with her older sister and Guinevere, she felt a slight aversion to affectionate touching with girls. She had felt awkward during the filming just now.

Rin was also not very satisfied with this scene. She flicked her hair and snorted, "Who knows what that Shinji guy is thinking. Maybe he has some weird fetish."

She didn't have any negative feelings towards Saber, but she still felt a bit embarrassed about hugging and cuddling with a girl.

"Rin," Artoria asked seriously, "Do you hate Master?"

Rin paused.

"Huh? Artoria, why do you say that?"

"Because you always contradict Master."

Hearing Artoria's calm and straightforward words, Rin was stunned.

"Well, rather than hating him, it's more like being annoyed. That guy has been tricking me and Shirou out of our pocket money in various ways since he was five. He's a bad guy. But..."

At this point, Rin glanced at Shinji, who was still discussing with the film crew members, and a slight smile curved her lips.

"The fact that he's a movie buff, that hasn't changed for over ten years."

"Is that like?"

Artoria tilted her head and continued to ask.

"Like... like him?! N-no way!! How could I possibly like him!" Rin slapped the bed and loudly denied it. "Why would you ask that?"

"Because I don't know what love is?"

Artoria said with a bit of dejection, "Master wants me to act like a Girl in Love, but I really don't know how."

"Is that so..."

Rin didn't know what to say. Having been Single Since Birth herself, her experience with romance wasn't much better than Artoria's.

"Ahem, why don't you try reading some manga and novels?"

After thinking it over, this was the only idea Rin could come up with.

"Manga and novels?"

"Yes, Romance Manga and novels. The Depiction of Love in them is very detailed. I think it will help you."

Then, Rin listed the titles of several Shoujo Manga and Love Novels.

"Oh, oh."

Artoria nodded continuously, writing them down.

"Rin, you're really amazing."

"It's nothing, really. It's not a big deal."

Rin proudly lifted her head.

"But why do you know so many manga and novels? Do Top Students have to read these too?"

Artoria asked with a curious expression, her lack of understanding about Modern Education leading her to ask so directly.

"Uh... how should I put it..."

Stumped by Artoria's question, Rin became hesitant, unsure how to answer.

Fortunately, Master Shinji arrived at that moment to Save the Situation.