I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director
Chapter 433: Shinji — You Can't Just Use Magecraft Like That
In the end, Shinji didn't go through with any of those outrageously immoral ideas he'd blurted out earlier.
After all, he and Marie were on pretty good terms. If he actually did something like that, he'd probably end up strung up from the Fuyuki City bridge.
Making Olga Marie "experience despair" had just been a momentary outburst.
That said, Shinji wasn't about to just sit around and wait for her emotions to magically click into place either. Instead, he began trying to guide this ever-sheltered Lord of the Astromancy Department.
"Hey, Marie… back when that old geezer of yours had just died, before you met me… you must've felt pretty helpless back then, right?"
"…Back then?"
Olga Marie paused for a moment. "Yeah… I guess I did cry a lot."
Unlike the FGO timeline, Marisbury had died far too early.
At the time, Olga Marie hadn't even reached ten years old, let alone begun any formal study of magecraft. To her, her father had been nothing but a figure of admiration and reverence. She hadn't even developed feelings like fear or jealousy toward her senior, Kirschtaria Wodime, who might have competed for the position of Lord of the Astromancy Department.
Because of that, her feelings toward her father were entirely positive. So when he died, she was naturally devastated beyond measure.
"Father…"
Olga Marie blinked, trying to recall the image of him in her memory.
But the more she thought about it, the more she realized just how vague that image had become.
After all, he had been gone for so many years… and she had been so young back then.
Compared to that—
"Focus on that feeling. Let's give it a try."
Seeing the thoughtful look on her face, Shinji assumed she was finally getting somewhere and immediately called for another take.
Unfortunately—
"…Still not quite there."
Watching the footage on the monitor, Shinji let out a quiet sigh.
But he had expected this. There was no way a single attempt at guidance would suddenly bring Olga Marie into perfect form.
After all, imagining an emotion was inherently unreliable. Since she could so casually say she had never experienced despair, then when Marisbury died, she likely felt only grief—not true despair.
And more importantly, what Shinji needed wasn't just despair at reaching the end of the road, it was the despair of betrayal.
Those were two entirely different things.
"Not bad… but still not enough!"
Shinji licked his lips as he thought it over. "Looks like I'll need to add a bit more fuel to the fire."
His eyes rolled slightly—and then, an idea struck him.
"Fellows, come here for a second."
After the take ended, Shinji called over Trisha Fellows—Olga Marie's assistant and mentor.
"Alright, Marie, I've got an announcement," Shinji declared to the two women, one big and one small. "Trisha Fellows has decided to leave the Astromancy Department and join our Modern Magecraft Department."
"…What? What is that supposed to mean?"
Before Olga Marie could even react, Trisha herself widened her eyes in shock.
"Hypothetically—just hypothetically," Shinji whispered near her ear, "this is for Marie's situational training."
"…Understood."
After a long hesitation, Trisha spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.
"Milady… I have decided to defect to the Modern Magecraft Department."
Watching her utterly unconvincing performance, Shinji covered his face with one hand.
He couldn't bear to look.
Olga Marie, too, seemed speechless at Trisha's acting. Her gaze shifted back and forth between the two people she trusted most—a man and a woman—several times before she finally responded:
"…Congratulations. I wish you both a long and happy marriage?"
"Wait, why would it be a 'happy marriage'?!"
Olga Marie's reply completely short-circuited Shinji's brain.
"Because it's you, Shinji~"
Seeing Olga Marie proudly lift her little nose, Shinji immediately realized she was doing it on purpose.
"Shinji, even that blockhead Kirschtaria wouldn't fall for a lie like this. What makes you think I would?"
"Now that's just unfair," Shinji replied casually. "Sure, he's a stoic, expressionless stick, but his brain is top-tier. Completely different from a little girl like you."
As he spoke, Shinji reached out and adjusted Olga Marie's collar, making her look a bit more put together.
"…Don't tell me you regret not supporting him instead?"
Olga Marie frowned slightly. She had already guessed that Shinji was deliberately bringing up her senior to provoke her.
Still, hearing the admiration in his tone toward Kirschtaria made her feel… uncomfortable.
In Olga Marie's eyes, there was no one in this world more suited to be the Lord of the Astromancy Department than herself. Only she could lead it to greater heights. No one else could do it—not even her senior.
And yet now, someone was denying that.
Worse still, that someone was Shinji—the very person who had always supported her.
Even knowing full well that he was trying to provoke her, Olga Marie couldn't help but feel irritated.
But that irritation… was exactly what Shinji wanted.
Without realizing it, he had protected this girl too well. Her life had been far too smooth, too free of setbacks.
"Marie, this is your final scene. Once it's done, everything's over."
"…What are you implying, Shinji?"
Olga Marie narrowed her eyes. She could hear the hidden meaning in his words.
"You're not planning to do something shady to me again, are you?"
Shinji smiled faintly.
"It's nothing. We just won't be seeing each other for a long time after this, so I thought I'd say it in advance. Everything will end soon."
"…That guy, Shinji…"
Standing by the monitor, Archer rubbed his nose with a helpless expression.
Others might not have noticed, but he saw it clearly.
Shinji had cast a subtle suggestion spell on Olga Marie.
Bringing Trisha over had merely been a smokescreen—to make Olga Marie think she had seen through his clumsy ploy and let her guard down. Then, while adjusting her collar, he had slipped in the suggestion.
Archer understood what Shinji was doing—subtly guiding Olga Marie's emotions, amplifying the jealousy and unease within her, helping her find the right emotional state for the performance.
But the way Shinji applied the spell was far too practiced.
It was the work of someone very experienced.
Which made Archer involuntarily wonder just how many girls Shinji had tricked before to become this skilled.
"…If I remember right, back when we were filming FSN, didn't he have Illya do something similar to Emiya Shirou…?"
Archer's lips twitched slightly.
"That guy has no bottom line…"
Meanwhile, on set, Olga Marie—completely unaware that Shinji had cast a spell on her—hung there, oblivious.
It had nothing to do with her lack of ability.
She simply trusted Shinji too much.
She hadn't been on guard at all.
"Shinji… you're not planning to abandon me, are you?"
Tilting her head slightly, Olga Marie asked softly.
"Do you like Kirschtaria that much?"
"H-Hey, don't say weird things like that!"
A drop of cold sweat slid down Shinji's temple.
"I know… I've always known…"
Ignoring Shinji's half-formed protest, Olga Marie's eyes gradually lost their focus. Under the influence of the spell, her consciousness had already begun to sink into her own inner world.
"You've never really looked at me… not even once…"
"I know I'm not good enough… but you were the one who chose me back then…"
"So I kept telling myself… that I had to become a worthy Lord…"
"That way… you wouldn't regret choosing me…"
Olga Marie swayed back and forth in midair. Suspended by wires, she looked almost like a struggling bagworm, dangling helplessly as she drifted side to side.
"Do you know…? I've always been waiting—for your Modern Magecraft Department to cooperate with ours. But you never came. Was I not good enough? Was the Astromancy Department I lead still not worthy of working with you?"
'No, no, no—that's not it at all! I just never planned to drag your department into this in the first place…'
Shinji hesitated.
Should he end the spell now?
Letting Olga Marie continue to expose her inner thoughts like this was getting dangerous. And yet… the emotional state she was in right now was exactly what he needed for the scene.
"So now you're planning to abandon me and choose Kirschtaria instead, right? I knew it—you prefer working with someone like him! Someone who looks perfect… and actually is perfect!"
At that, Olga Marie took a deep breath—then shouted with all her strength:
"Shinji Matou, you emotionally manipulative jerk! You said you'd always stand by my side! You liar!"
Under the spell's influence, she had that uncontrollable, confessional quality of someone who had drunk too much—unable to hold anything back. Tears welled up at the corners of her eyes as she cried out.
"Shinji… y-you… don't leave me…"
"…Uh…"
Shinji's expression froze.
He knew it.
He had gone too far.
He never expected the suggestion spell to work this well—nor did he expect this proud young lady, once her emotions were unleashed, to drop the "tsun" entirely and go full "dere."
'This is bad… am I even going to survive this?'
Ordinary people wouldn't remember anything after a suggestion spell was lifted.
But magi were anything but ordinary.
Even if he had successfully caught Olga Marie off guard this time, once the spell was undone, she would definitely remember everything.
'Nope. Gotta end it now. If she says anything more, I'm dead for sure.'
Snap
Shinji flicked his fingers.
Olga Marie's eyes instantly cleared.
"…!"
The moment she realized what had just happened, a deep blush rapidly spread across her face.
"SHINJIII—MATOU—!!"
Her furious scream was so loud that even Arturia, who had been outside quietly munching on a red bean bun, heard it clearly.
"Hm? What's going on in there?"
Curious, Arturia turned her head and peeked toward the studio—but it was packed with people, completely blocking her view.
"…Eh, whatever. It's not like Master is being ambushed by an assassin and on the verge of death or anything."
She took another bite of her bun, a satisfied smile blooming on her face.
"Mm~ Delicious."
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Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
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