I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director
Chapter 429: Another Poor Kid Who Gets Sold and Still Says Thanks
As for Shinji's advice to Olga Marie, Charlemagne could only stare in stunned silence—while simultaneously wanting to perform a one-sided verbal "exercise" aimed at his Master.
But after thinking about it carefully, he had to admit… there was a bit of logic to it.
After all, this scene was the first confrontation between Olga Marie and the Fujimaru Ritsuka he was playing—the famous moment where Marie throws Ritsuka out for dozing off.
According to the script, Olga Marie's authority as director far surpassed Ritsuka's. Her attitude toward him was practically one step short of slapping him.
Of course, that wasn't her fault. This was a meeting concerning the future of humanity, and yet Fujimaru Ritsuka—the utterly clueless guy—actually fell asleep. If he didn't get yelled at, that would be weirder.
Even in an ordinary high school, if a student openly slept during a school assembly, they'd definitely be harshly reprimanded. Being dragged onto the stage for public social execution wouldn't even be surprising.
However, during the previous takes, Olga Marie hadn't managed to bring out the sharp edge required by the script.
The problem wasn't that she couldn't act fierce in front of the camera. It was that she felt intimidated facing Charlemagne—Charles the Great himself—and couldn't bring herself to go all out.
That was understandable. If you asked someone to point at a historical icon and curse them to their face, most people would probably freeze up too.
Shinji's advice—telling her to let go of the psychological burden—was indeed spot-on. But could Olga Marie really do it without hesitation?
Charlemagne was skeptical.
However, Shinji demonstrated with action why filmmaking is known as the art of deception.
He instructed the prop team to adjust the angle of the set pieces in front of the camera, then rearranged the actors' positions. As a result, although Olga Marie wasn't actually facing Charlemagne directly, the filmed image made it look like the two were standing face-to-face.
Thus, the one receiving Olga Marie's scolding changed from Charlemagne to a certain unfortunate Astronomy Department staff member.
"OK, we're ready to start again! Come on Marie, let your subordinate feel the terror of having a female boss!"
Shinji gave Olga Marie a thumbs-up, signaling her to increase the intensity of her verbal assault.
'What did I do to deserve this!?'
The poor stand-in guy shed silent tears. Being scolded by his superior for no reason was bad enough—but his face wouldn't even appear in the movie. He was literally getting yelled at for nothing.
"Archer and the others weren't lying when they said Master always comes up with new tricks. At least when it comes to winging things, he's really something."
Charlemagne had to admit defeat after witnessing Shinji's maneuver.
The subsequent filming went much more smoothly.
Charlemagne—no, Fujimaru Ritsuka—displayed a talent rivaling Nobita's during the Masters' group meeting: falling asleep while standing.
In truth, different versions of the Prologue handled the director's lecture scene differently. The game version was impossible to reference—there wasn't even a dedicated illustration.
In the anime, Olga Marie gave her speech in a classroom-like room, with the Masters seated below like students. But both manga adaptations had her explaining things beneath Chaldeas—the pseudo-Earth model—in the control room.
Shinji adopted the manga version of the setting. Not only did Ritsuka falling asleep while standing provide a stronger reason for Marie's anger, but it was also more consistent with the internal logic.
According to the game's flow, the Rayshift operation begins immediately after the director's speech, and Lev's bomb detonates halfway through the transfer. Based on the timeline, there wouldn't be enough time to move to another location.
That said, the anime's adaptation wasn't wrong either. The Masters wore Chaldea uniforms when assembling, then changed into combat suits before the Rayshift.
If they first held the meeting in a classroom, then changed clothes, and finally proceeded with the transfer, that sequence also made sense.
Shinji, however, had no intention of using the anime's setup. It would introduce too many unnecessary shots and drag out the film's runtime.
So Shinji decisively redesigned the Chaldea combat suit as an inner layer beneath the standard uniform. After the director's briefing, the Masters would simply remove their outer uniforms and proceed directly to the Rayshift experiment.
However, this "taking off clothes" moment wouldn't apply to the male lead, Fujimaru Ritsuka—because he was already dozing off the moment the director spoke her first line.
By the second line, his eyes had closed.
By the third, he was sleeping soundly… even snoring.
Thud!
The heavy footsteps startled the drooling Ritsuka awake. When he opened his eyes, Director Olga Marie was already standing right in front of him.
"You've got some nerve, falling asleep right in front of me!"
Because of the forced-perspective filming, Olga Marie couldn't grab Ritsuka's collar like originally scripted, but her pointing finger and furious expression achieved the same effect.
"Do you even understand how important this mission is? Do you understand the situation humanity is facing?!"
Facing Olga Marie's roar, the unlucky Astronomy Department extra taking the scolding had his heart pounding wildly. But he couldn't shrink back—instead, he had to stand tall. The scolded Ritsuka was supposed to be half-awake and confused; if he flinched, the forced perspective would fail.
'The director is terrifying… such overwhelming presence. This reminds me of when I messed up at the Clock Tower. No wonder even Shinji Matou couldn't handle such a fierce woman.'
Fortunately, the extra's punishment didn't last long. Mash—already showing signs of being protective—ran over to smooth things out.
"Director, he's just an ordinary person, and he's still affected by the simulation—"
"—An ordinary person?" Olga Marie cut her off irritably. "An amateur who gets dizzy just from the simulator? How did you even get in here?!"
Her anger was somewhat justified. Ritsuka's situation was about as ridiculous as someone getting motion sickness by standing still.
"Are you mocking my Chaldea? Someone like you has no right to stand here—let alone become a Master!"
"…Eh?"
Though Olga Marie's scolding had fully awakened him, waking up didn't mean understanding the situation.
All Ritsuka saw at that moment was a silver-haired girl with tears in her eyes.
"Get out!"
Seeing his reaction, Olga Marie gave the dismissal in frustration.
"Cut!"
Behind the monitor, Shinji nodded. "That was good! That brat had great intensity."
"Alright, everyone, prepare for the next scene! Charlemagne, go get some injury makeup. We'll shoot the hallway scene after you've been slapped."
Under Shinji's direction, the crew moved onto the set to prepare for the next shot.
Meanwhile, Olga Marie—still in front of the camera—let out a long sigh of relief, which Shinji immediately noticed.
"Marie, you're still so delicate. Those earlier NGs got to you again, didn't they?"
"Of course not!" Olga Marie retorted stubbornly. "This is practically playing myself—there's nothing difficult about it. I just wasn't used to acting earlier. Didn't I do great this time?"
"Yeah, yeah, Marie is the best."
"What? That's not even a proper compliment."
Shinji nodded. "I'll take that as you being happy."
Strong yet fragile, stubborn yet easily shaken—Olga Marie's personality was just that contradictory. It was the perfect embodiment of her tsundere nature.
And when the pressure built up, she'd immediately transform into a short-tempered tiger lady, scaring everyone around her half to death.
But behind that glass-like personality was her tsundere sincerity. No matter how much she complained, Olga Marie never forgot favors. Anyone who helped her would receive double the gratitude.
"So if you handle it right and grasp the trick, you can make her listen to you completely. After all, Marie always repays kindness~"
Charlemagne, passing by Shinji on his way to change, happened to hear that remark.
"Poor girl… is she another one sold off by Master who still ends up saying 'thank you~'? …Wait, why did I say another?"