Cú Chulainn: Won't someone save this kid and let me be the protagonist?

However, in order to save Tsuburaya Productions this time, Shinji has spent almost all the money he earned from Fate/Zero.

So, upon returning to Fuyuki City, Shinji immediately began post-production on UBW and HF. Once he ran out of money, Shinji's motivation to work was at its peak.

As for the promotion and marketing of the series, Shinji entrusted the European and American parts entirely to Chloe and Jidai Group.

As long as it uses the sequel to Fate/Zero and a different FSN story as a gimmick, the response to this series will definitely not be too bad.

With the help of the Jidai Group in marketing, Shinji was able to confidently begin producing the TV series.

Compared to movies, the post-production of TV series doesn't need to be as meticulous, but because there's more material to process, Shinji's completion speed wasn't much faster than that of movies.

Fortunately, Shinji already had experience producing two films, so while the post-production work was tedious, it didn't pose a problem for Shinji.

During this time, Shinji also contacted Waver, who was in Britain, and asked him to find a film crew there to film the final scene of Rin studying in Britain at the end of UBW.

This part of the story was originally supposed to be filmed in Japan, but since Rin was going to study abroad at the Clock Tower this year, Shinji decided to have her film there instead.

Then he asked Shirou to bring back the footage he had finished filming in Britain.

Shirou had no objection to this; he didn't have to spend a single penny on this trip to Britain, treating it as a vacation abroad.

From November 2004 to early February 2005, post-production on UBW and HF gradually came to an end.

By this time, both Jidai Group. and Bandai had finalized the premiere date for UBW.

In North America, UBW will premiere on TNT, a television network owned by Jidai Group., on March 6, 2005 (Sunday) during prime time.

Bandai arranged for the Japan premiere to be two days earlier than the North American premiere, on March 4th (Friday) during Bandai time on TBS Television.

Despite Japan airing the show two days earlier than North America, Shinji wasn't worried at all about the content being leaked.

After all, finding resources in Europe and America is extremely difficult, unlike the ease it takes in China.

Many people think that Europeans and Americans have a high awareness of copyright, which is why they like to boast about it. But in reality, every time there is a piracy leak, the source of the resource is always mostly Europeans and Americans.

The piracy market in Europe and America is not large; it's simply that resources from Europe and America are relatively hard to find.

Generally speaking, when searching for resources online in Europe and America, about 80% of them are advertisements, 80% of the remaining 20% are scam websites, and the remaining 80% are viruses.

For most Europeans and Americans, it's not that they don't want to watch pirated content, but even if they spend time and effort, they can't find pirated copies, and they might even have to ruin their computers.

In this environment, it's clearly more cost-effective to spend money to watch the official version.

In particular, UBW was broadcast for free on public television, so you could watch it without spending any money.

On the contrary, some people are considering getting free access to HF, which will be broadcast on the pay-TV channel HBO in the future.

Regardless, UBW, which is scheduled to air in the spring season, has garnered significant attention even before its premiere.

So much so that when it premiered on TBS Television on March 4th, the opening viewership rating was an astonishing 40%!

"Is this the power of Fate?"

Looking at the best drama premiere results in nearly a decade, the manager of TBS Television couldn't help but want to shout, "Shinji Matou, may you reign supreme for Bandai!"

Chapter 101 Cú Chulainn: Save the children, let me be the protagonist!

On the evening of March 4th, Shinji brought Artoria back to the Matou Residence.

As Artoria took off her high heels, she tilted her head and asked, "Master, why did you suddenly come to pick me up today?"

Today, Artoria was filming the second season of "A Bite of Fuyuki City" when Shinji suddenly appeared at the set entrance after work, saying he wanted to take her home.

Not only that, Shinji also took Artoria out for a luxurious sushi dinner.

This greatly surprised Artoria; when did her Master become so generous?

Artoria knew very well that Shinji never invited her to dinner alone because of her small appetite.

"If you have time, I'll pick you up on my way~" Shinji said with a smile, hanging his coat to the side.

"Don't you like Artoria?"

"I'm very grateful that Master treated me to dinner." Entering the corridor, Artoria didn't hear anyone else and asked curiously, "Where is everyone else?"

"They went to the company to watch TV." Shinji shrugged. "Of course, watching UBW together is just an excuse; they really just wanted to find a reason to cause trouble."

Artoria tilted her head and asked, "Did they all go? Even Sakura?"

Shinji shook his head. "No, she just went shopping with Medusa, she'll probably be back very late."

"Sakura isn't watching today's premiere? Isn't she the one who cares most about your work, her brother's?"

Upon hearing this, Shinji's expression turned somewhat strange, and he gently covered his stomach with his hand, as if savoring something.

"Sakura said... her scenes with Rider don't even add up to 20 minutes in the whole series, what's the point of watching that? We might as well wait for HF to be released online."

Artoria saw Shinji's actions and a kind, understanding smile appeared on her face.

She placed her hand on Shinji's shoulder and comforted him, "Master, you should learn how to strengthen your stomach."

"Absolutely unnecessary!"

Shinji slapped Artoria's hand away. "We'll watch the show together later. Go take a shower first."

"Knew."

Artoria squinted and said, "Master, just look forward to seeing how I perform on screen."

Watching Artoria's cheerful departing figure, Shinji slowly typed a question mark.

"Has that girl forgotten that she basically doesn't have any scenes in the first episode today?"

Half an hour later, Shinji, having taken a shower and changed his clothes, arrived at the Matou Residence's video room.

Sitting on the sofa, he switched the large screen to TBS Television, waiting for UBW to air.

This luxurious home theater was specially renovated by Mr. Zouken after Shinji became Director, so that he could enjoy his grandson's works using the most advanced home projection equipment.

Unfortunately, when purchasing the equipment, Mr. Zouken only focused on its quality and forgot about his own physical limitations.

His elderly body and fragile blood pressure simply couldn't withstand the roar of the sound system.

The old man used it only once and never stepped into the room again.

Shinji, on the other hand, repeatedly got to use his father's equipment for free.

"Master, would green tea and rice crackers be alright?"

At that moment, Artoria entered the media room carrying a tray.

Perhaps because she had just taken a shower, Artoria was wearing relatively loose casual clothes, her face was flushed, and she exuded a pleasant scent.

"Hmm, not bad."

Shinji nodded with his eyes closed, seemingly satisfied. It was unclear whether he was referring to the tea and snacks that accompanied the television program or to the current Artoria.

Artoria noticed Shinji's attitude. She gently placed the tray in the center of the coffee table and sat down at the other end of the sofa, far away from Shinji.

Seeing his Servant's attitude, Shinji sighed softly, rubbing his forehead. "Artoria, you really break my heart."

Artoria replied calmly, "Master, you can try being more proactive. I'll make sure your lower body never thinks again for the rest of your life."

"That's really strict."

Shinji picked up his green tea and took a small sip.

"I'm just stating my position," Artoria said seriously. "I hate frivolous men."

"Then I should gain weight."

Unfortunately, Shinji's joke was not accepted by Artoria, and the atmosphere between the two instantly became awkward.

Fortunately, UBW started playing at that moment, and Shinji and Artoria both focused their attention on the television.

Unlike the movie version of FSN, the TV series FSN does not immediately jump into the battle between Archer and Lancer, but instead begins before the Holy Grail War officially begins.

However, Shinji did not copy the plot of the anime version of UBW. Instead, he combined episode 0, "Prologue," and episode 1, "Winter Day, Fate Night," from the anime.

Using a dual-perspective narrative, the story presents the audience with the final daily life before the Holy Grail War begins, told from the perspectives of both Rin and Shirou.

To ensure that Rin and Shirou's screen time was roughly equal, Shinji deliberately shortened the scenes between Rin and Red A, keeping only their everyday banter.

"Hmph, Archer is certainly good with words. Is this what Master meant by 'showing off'?"

Hearing Archer teasing Rin on the screen, Artoria gave a slightly arrogant snort.

Shinji, resting his chin on his hand, joked, "It's alright. This is probably what they call trying to avoid embarrassment by desperately pointing the finger at others. In short, this Man with a Back View is trying to cover up his embarrassing past."

"I see, I've learned something new."

Artoria suddenly realized that she would definitely write it down if she had paper and pen.

"The next time Sir Lancelot mentions my dark past in front of others, I'll use this trick on him. And..."

Artoria glanced at the breakfast Shirou was enjoying on the screen, and she slurped her saliva.

"Master, I'm hungry. Could you prepare some late-night snacks?"

"Don't we have senbei?"

"They've all eaten them."

Looking at the empty plate, Shinji rubbed his temples.

"Can't you eat your fill just once?"

Achoo!

Meanwhile, at Type-Moon Company, Lancelot, who was chatting with Kariya, sneezed loudly.

"How strange, do Heroic Spirit also catch colds?"

"No, someone must have been talking badly about me," Lancelot complained, rubbing his nose.

Having spent so much time in the real world, Lancelot has come to understand some of the mysterious forces at play in contemporary society.

For example, people sneeze when they are spoken ill of, there are also the great prophetic abilities of certain Chinese people, and the Crown Prince is always waiting but can never ascend to the throne.

"The pacing of this TV series is slower than I expected," Gilgamesh complained, taking a sip of his wine. "At this rate, when will I ever make my appearance?!"

A full 20 minutes passed before the drama's plot progressed to the point where Rin discovered the barrier in the school and prepared to investigate.

"It should be in the second half of the season," Enkidu replied, flipping through the script outline. "Gil, you don't need to be in such a hurry. The second half of the story will be your time to shine."

"What's the rush? I'm just worried that if I don't appear soon, the TV ratings will be too low," Gilgamesh replied, trying to save face.

Enkidu poked Gil's cheek with his finger and teased, "Come on, you're obviously in a hurry."

"Enkidu, don't think that just because you're my friend, I won't dare to hit you! Let me tell you—"

Bang!

Iskandar slammed two large beer mugs, each holding at least a pound, in front of him.

"Hey you two, this is a rare opportunity, why not have a few more drinks?"

Iskandar gave a hearty smile.

"Hmph~"

Gilgamesh didn't reach for the beer; instead, he raised the glass in his hand.

"Don't even think about exchanging these inferior wines for my fine wines."

Gilgamesh would never refuse an invitation from King, but this was just a private gathering of Heroic Spirit, so there was no rule that he had to accept the invitation.

"Tch, it's not easy to get drinks from you."

Realizing his intentions had been seen through, Iskandar scratched his head and sat down on the sofa.

"Thanks, King of Conquerors."

Enkidu readily picked up one of the beers and drank it all in one gulp. When he put the glass down, he didn't even flinch or pant, as if he had just drunk a glass of water.

"I didn't expect you to have such a feminine physique, yet you drink so heartily," Iskandar said with a hint of surprise.

Enkidu smiled and replied, "I just think this appearance is the most natural. If necessary, I can transform into a giant even more imposing than you."

"That does resemble that Assassin quite a bit," Iskandar remarked, glancing at Yan Qing in the distance.

"It's different. Mr. Yan Qing can only transform into a human, but I have more transformation abilities; I can even transform into non-human species."

Enkidu these words with great composure, clearly proud of his superior abilities.

"This ability... I feel like Master will develop it further."