Chapter 249: Is This What You Learned Magecraft For?
Early the next morning, the first thing Shinji saw after waking up was an absolutely exquisite sight — King Arthur, while blushing furiously, is covering her face with both hands.
"Master, I truly apologize for last night," Arturia said, her voice low, looking completely mortified.
"I was far too out of line yesterday..."
Shinji gave a slightly awkward grin. "Eh, it's not that bad. At least now I know what you all really think of me."
"I'm really sorry," Arturia said again, bowing her head even lower.
If her chest weren't so... tragically flat, Shinji figured he might've had a clear view of her breast.
To Arturia, saying bad things about someone to their face wasn't such a big deal—it could be brushed off as the blunt honesty of a knight.
But getting drunk and talking behind someone's back? That was dangerously close to gossip, which was far more shameful.
And worst of all—someone actually heard it.
Not that Shinji himself cared much. He'd been roasted by his Servants for so long it didn't even register anymore.
And compared to the kind of trash talk he got from the likes of Gilgamesh, this was practically a compliment.
His only real issue last night was the aftermath of the two knight ladies getting smashed.
First, he had to haul both thoroughly wasted Arturia and Mordred into a cab under the judgmental gaze of the waitress.
Then he had to drag the two limp drunks out of the cab while the driver looked on like Shinji was trafficking golden retrievers in cosplay.
Thankfully, the hotel staff were already well used to this kind of scene.
Not only did they not look down on him, they even helped carry Arturia and Mordred to their room and lay them on the bed—saving Shinji a ton of trouble.
Unfortunately, unlike what the hotel staff might have imagined, Shinji didn't have any wild fun with the gorgeous blonde pair.
It wasn't that he was trying to be a saint or anything, he just didn't want to die.
If Arturia happened to wake up mid-act, her lower half grip strength alone would be enough to tore his male thing on the spot.
Still, Shinji did get something out of all that effort.
His phone was now filled with a bunch of adorable photos of the Arturia-Mordred duo, all cuddled up and "bonding" in their drunken sleep.
Of course, he had zero intention of telling Arturia about those pictures.
In fact, he was already planning to sell them to Mordred at a high price.
Once upon a time, Type-Moon made their own artists and voice actors roll for gacha to recoup salaries…
Now, Shinji was luring Mordred into trading with blackmail pics—truly, they are cut from the same cloth.
Cough
"Well, anyway, I had a great time at supper last night," Shinji said with exaggerated generosity. "Let's not sweat the small stuff. Want me to drop you off at the set?"
"No need..." Arturia said, face still red. "I'm sober now."
"Servant perks, huh... So jealous."
And that wasn't just small talk—Shinji genuinely envied the physical advantages of Heroic Spirits.
From what little experience he had with hangovers, the next morning was always hell.
"By the way..."
As if remembering something, Arturia looked up and gave Shinji a glance.
"I know what happened. Last night, you, me, and Mordred were just... happily eating supper together. That's all."
Shinji immediately guessed that Arturia didn't want her embarrassing moments to spread through their circle, so he jumped in ahead of her and said:
"Anything beyond that? I remember nothing at all. That okay with you?"
"Nothing…?"
Arturia hesitated.
"What is it?"
"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"
She stood up awkwardly and made a quick dash for the door.
"Well then, I'll be going now, Master!"
Watching her leave, Shinji furrowed his brow in confusion.
"Did she say something last night besides roasting me? Or did I miss something…?"
Behind him, Mordred poked at his back with a clearly dissatisfied finger.
"Hey! Master! This is all your fault, you scared Father off!"
"She's not that timid! Don't talk nonsense."
Looking at Mordred's little fierce puppy face, baring her teeth in an adorable-fierce kind of way, Shinji's expression suddenly turned devilishly playful.
He pulled out his phone.
"Hey, Mordred."
"What?"
"Wanna see some photos? I've got some good ones."
Using the tone of a shady street vendor, Shinji started pitching the contents of his phone like he was selling bootlegs.
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The premiere of Super 8 could only be described as a massive success.
Whether it was professionals within the industry or regular moviegoers just there for the spectacle, everyone had high praise for the film's visual effects.
Over in China, the movie hadn't officially opened yet, so most fans could only drool over hype posts from the few "lucky bastards" who managed to attend early screenings.
But outside of China, Super 8 was pulling in box office numbers that couldn't just be called a hit—it was a phenomenon.
At the very least, "long lines everywhere" was no exaggeration.
IMAX screenings, which the studio officially designated as the best way to watch the movie, were completely packed. Every single show was sold out, making tickets nearly impossible to get.
Though IMAX showings were limited by the number of available theaters and seats, the fact that over half the people in each IMAX theater in Fuyuki City were from out of town spoke volumes about the demand.
These out-of-town fans were coming from cities without IMAX screens, making special trips just to experience Super 8 in all its immersive glory.
And after watching it? Every single one of them said it was totally worth it.
Most left hoping their own cities would install IMAX theaters ASAP.
People had praised Shinji's previous Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero films for their visual effects too, but when it came to Super 8, the only word that came up again and again was "mind-blowing."
It wasn't that Super 8 had vastly better effects than the previous Fate films—Rather, it was that disaster movies (or in this case, monster destruction scenes) always have the edge when it comes to sheer visual impact.
Even though Super 8 wasn't a traditional disaster flick, those monster-driven scenes of city-wide devastation basically put it in the same category.
Plenty of media outlets went as far as to call Super 8 "the most visually stunning film ever made"—and surprisingly, no one argued.
Sharing the headlines with Super 8's special effects was its glasses-free 3D technology.
Every newspaper and media outlet reviewing the film made a point to highlight this innovation, calling it a revolutionary leap in filmmaking.
Even though Type-Moon had announced the tech a while back and put out some free demos, barely anyone had taken it seriously at the time.
Many people initially thought this new 3D technology was all hype and no substance, just another gimmick like those polarized 3D systems flooding the market.
Who could've guessed that Shinji Matou would actually pull off a true glasses-free 3D film—and not just with a few flashy scenes here and there, but full-on 3D throughout the entire movie?
And not only that, the technology avoided all the common issues of traditional 3D: no eye strain, no nausea, no need for awkward glasses… none of the usual downsides.
That alone was enough for journalists to go wild with praise. Many were already predicting wild stock market fluctuations for companies working on 3D tech.
But while some reporters were still "predicting," others were already whipping out their wallets, eager to throw money at Type-Moon. Wall Street investors, in particular, were lining up to invest.
Too bad for them, Type-Moon wasn't a publicly traded company. Even if they wanted to give Shinji their money, there was literally no way to do so.
There were even rumors within the industry that Type-Moon only accepted "insider" investments. But no matter how hard those investors tried to dig, they could never figure out exactly what that "circle" was.
The greatest distance in the world isn't between you and your goddess, it's when you are not even able to simp for her because you can't find the entrance to her fanclub.
Some of the more shameless ones tried going directly to Type-Moon's newly appointed company president, Udagawa Nao, in hopes of persuading her to launch an IPO.
But Udagawa Nao knew the real decision-making power lay with a certain young, handsome, multi-talented director.
So, no matter who came knocking, she stuck to one of two polite deflections:
"Thank you for your suggestion. Type-Moon is currently considering it," or, "We are actively evaluating the possibility."
Anyone who's seen Yes, Minister knows that the only difference between those two statements is whether the memo has been "seen" or "officially seen."
Still, all that investment drama was just internal company talk. Even if it showed up in entertainment sections, it was nothing more than filler content.
The real front-page spotlight? Super 8 and its overwhelming critical acclaim.
"This is a miracle brought to life by Shinji Matou. Even though we've come to expect nothing less than visual spectacles from this young director, Super 8 still managed to exceed everyone's expectations."
In the Type-Moon office—specifically, inside a cozy Beverly Hills bedroom—Cloris leaned against Shinji as she read the newspaper aloud.
"The story may be simple and straightforward, but it takes the audience on a journey through a dreamlike fairytale."
"That's what The L.A. Times said. Sounds pretty good, right?"
Hearing the teasing tone in her voice, Shinji rolled his eyes at the ceiling.
"They might as well have just called the plot brain-dead."
Cloris burst into giggles, snuggling even closer.
"Ahem. Lissy, you're a bit too close."
"Does it matter?" Cloris grinned. "You already sent your assistant and secretary out to work. No one's going to walk in."
Shinji flicked her forehead. "Don't jinx it. What if someone does walk in?"
Cloris narrowed her eyes, her fingers lazily drawing circles on Shinji's shoulder.
Shinji shot her a look, only for her to respond with a playful smile and a peek at her smooth, bare stomach.
"…Are you a feline or something?"
His mouth twitched.
He remembered how lionesses in the wild would roll over on the grass, exposing their soft bellies to attract the lion king's attention.
"Oooh~ so you do like catgirls," Cloris smirked like a little devil. "Looks like I'll need to get some cat ears next time."
Shinji caught her mischievous hand and retorted:
"If you actually do that, I'll really turn you into a catgirl. And not just any catgirl, the one with a working tail and cat meowing voice!"
"Oh?" Cloris raised an eyebrow. "You've got a spell that can do that?"
"Of course I do." Shinji shrugged like it was obvious.
"If I can't even satisfy my own kinks with magecraft, what the hell am I even studying it for?"
"…You learned magecraft just for that?"
Now it was Cloris's turn to complain.
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