I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director
Chapter 472: Isn't It There to Be Mocked?
Although it was rather impolite to call Hinako Akuta "old," when it came to her incredible network of connections, Shinji really couldn't think of a better saying than:
"Having an elder in the family is like possessing a priceless treasure."
If it weren't for Akuta, Shinji would never have been able to integrate the vast and intricate magical resources of the China leyline. And that ocean-like reserve of magical energy was the greatest source of confidence that allowed him to spend mana as extravagantly as he pleased.
Just how much magical energy did that Asian country leyline contain?
By Shinji's conservative estimate, if all of it were released at once, the ambient magical energy on Earth would for ten minutes reach the level depicted in the Fate/Stay Night movie before going back to normal.
But Shinji would never intentionally destroy the leyline to restore the world's Mystery.
For one thing, the leyline's magical energy could only be used by him as long as it remained sealed within China. If it were released into the world, what advantage would he still have?
From beginning to end, Shinji had never had the slightest interest in reviving Mystery.
For another, he simply wasn't capable of destroying the leyline even if he wanted to.
Although Akuta had provided him with a great deal of information, she had no idea where the master key granting the highest level of authority over the leyline was.
That key had been lost long ago during the wars that ravaged the Central Plains.
The only thing Akuta could say with certainty was that the key still existed somewhere.
Otherwise, the China leyline would have exploded long ago—it wouldn't have waited for Shinji to come along and "light the fuse."
The thought that everyone in China was living atop an enormous magical bomb whose detonator had gone missing made Shinji realize that sometimes, ignorance really is bliss.
In short, thanks to Akuta's help, Shinji had acquired what amounted to a supercomputer of the occult.
With this magical supercomputer, his efficiency in film post-production had increased by at least an order of magnitude compared to before.
He deliberately said only that his efficiency had improved, because the process itself was anything but easy.
To make movies the way Shinji did, you needed to master film editing, soundtrack synchronization, frame interpolation and manipulation, scene composition, and, of course, modern magecraft.
"So basically, you're saying you need to be a magi who also knows every directing technique."
Arturia and Jeanne both looked at Shinji with disdain for taking such a roundabout way of saying something so simple.
Meanwhile, the ordinary post-production staff at TYPE-MOON Studios were astonished by just how quickly the post-production work on Hundred Years' War of Evil Dragons was progressing.
"Matou-san... did you learn magic or something?"
One of the employees responsible for sound effects joked after discovering that the audio mix he had prepared had been incorporated into the finished film in only half an hour.
Although Shinji could tell the man was speaking lightly, he also noticed the curiosity hidden behind his expression.
So he deliberately replied,
"Young man, that's not magic. It's magecraft."
"So, Boss... are you actually David Copperfield?"
Naturally, the employee didn't take him seriously.
Everyone knew stage magic was fake—it was simply difficult for outsiders to figure out the trick behind it.
Only the Heroic Spirits and magus employees within the company knew Shinji was telling the truth.
Seeing that the man clearly didn't believe him, Shinji sighed helplessly.
"Fine. The truth is, our branch office in China found several post-production outsourcing companies. They can handle everything—from visual effects and sound design to color grading."
"More importantly, those outsourcing companies are hardworking. Their prices are low, and they always have someone on duty. Any feedback can be incorporated immediately."
Shinji winked at the ordinary employees.
"So, boys, you'd better work hard."
"Otherwise, you'll end up being replaced by the outsourcing companies."
"I-I'm going back to work."
"I still have part of the visual effects to finish."
"Wait for me!"
Watching the office workers scatter like startled birds, Arturia shook her head sympathetically.
"Master... when you say 'Chinese outsourcing companies,' you aren't talking about those shell companies you had Kariya create just so you could borrow their name, are you?"
"Not entirely."
Shinji shrugged.
"I really do plan to outsource some work in the future."
In the end, thanks to Shinji's mixture of truth and half-truths, the ordinary employees at TYPE-MOON—those uninvolved with the supernatural—could only accept that their boss had begun outsourcing work to Chinese companies.
In reality, however, film post-production wasn't the main focus of Shinji's outsourcing plans.
The real priority was game development.
Although TYPE-MOON hadn't released a new game since Cú Chulainn's and Hassan's parkour game, Shinji had never abandoned what was undoubtedly a highly profitable business.
And the first shot in TYPE-MOON's gaming counteroffensive would be...
Fate/EXTRA, meticulously planned by Shinji himself!
Calling it "meticulously planned" was something of an exaggeration.
All Shinji had actually done was provide the project proposal and an outline of the story.
There wasn't much else he could do.
While Fate/EXTRA had an excellent story, its infamous rock-paper-scissors battle system was enough to drive players away.
On top of that, both Fate/EXTRA and Fate/EXTRA CCC contained an enormous amount of text yet never received an official Chinese localization.
As a result, aside from the collaboration events in FGO, Shinji's strongest memory of EXTRA and EXTRA CCC was the opening movie for CCC animated by Studio SHAFT.
Although he had later read through summaries of both games' stories on online forums, he had only skimmed them.
The consequence was that Shinji had locked himself away for several days before finally managing to produce a usable story outline.
As for everything else...
Shinji could only let the game's scenario writers fill in the details themselves.
Of course, because of his lingering resentment toward the original Fate/EXTRA, Shinji's version would not only include an official Chinese localization, but would also change the gameplay into an action game much closer to the original God of War trilogy.
After all, if players were controlling Heroic Spirits in battle, what they really wanted was to cut down everything in their path while fighting like legendary heroes themselves.
After dumping all the work he couldn't handle onto the professionals, Shinji shifted his focus back to the post-production of Hundred Years' War of Evil Dragons.
Thanks to the supernatural "gift" from China, Shinji released the film's very first trailer just two days after principal photography wrapped.
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"Today's finally the day!"
At the Tokyo Young Magus Club, Aoko muttered excitedly as she sat in front of the television.
No matter how much she complained about Shinji, she was always incredibly eager to see his work.
Especially after the abrupt ending of Prologue, which had left her so furious she had nearly mailed Shinji a box full of razor blades herself.
Since then, Aoko had been paying close attention to everything Shinji Matou and TYPE-MOON did.
The moment the new trailer was officially announced, she was already seated in front of the TV, waiting for it to air.
"So, who do you think will appear as Servants this time?"
While waiting for the trailer to begin, the anxious Aoko kept chatting with everyone around her to distract herself.
"Judging from the ending of Prologue and the fleur-de-lis banner shown on the teaser poster, Jeanne's return is basically guaranteed."
Alice stroked her chin thoughtfully.
"As for other famous French heroes..."
"Napoleon?"
"Pffft—"
Shibamatsu immediately sprayed out the drink he had just taken.
"So France is going to be saved by a woman and a short foreigner? Is Shinji Matou into making fun of France?"
"That isn't really Sir Matou's fault, is it?" Alice replied seriously.
"Besides Jeanne and Napoleon, name another really famous French hero that are being taught in public class."
"French writers don't count."
Shibamatsu, who had been about to rattle off a long list—
Rousseau.
Victor Hugo.
Maupassant.
Alexandre Dumas.
Alexandre Dumas fils.
...
—abruptly fell silent.
"...Come to think of it... there really aren't any."
<+>
Note:
Jacques, Dantes, Roland, Ruggiero, and the rest are more of a myth for story book, so they don't really come to mind when they were told about possible French Heroic Spirit
Like, maybe only those who are born french and those who's a fan of European myth would know of them, I only know of their name because of FGO.