Chapter 36: Shinji Matou Truly Never Disappoints

                   

Chapter 36: Shinji Matou Truly Never Disappoints

Outside the theater, Shinji, Cloris, and Rin stood frozen in a triangular silence.

For a long, awkward moment, no one spoke.

In the end, it was Cloris who broke the stillness.

“Well now, Shinji,” she said sweetly, narrowing her eyes as she placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “Who’s this lovely lady with you?”

Shinji’s expression turned a distinct shade of green.

“L-Lissy—!?”

‘What the hell is that smile!?’

‘Isn't your Flora family magecraft all about plants? When did you learn ice spells that can freeze a man’s soul?!’

On the side, Rin’s gaze sharpened the moment she heard this silver-haired beauty call Shinji by his name. She’d already begun to piece the situation together.

“Oh, I get it now,” Rin said with a composed smile, flicking her ponytail with a flourish. “She’s one of the many women you’ve been seeing outside, isn’t she?”

“One of?”

Cloris’ voice dropped several degrees, and her entire aura turned glacial—like the kind of ice that never melts, even in Antarctica.

“Shinji,” she said sweetly, ominously. “I don’t recall ever raising you to be that kind of man, you know～”

Shinji’s brain was now firing at a speed of 150 mph, desperately searching for a way out of this frozen battlefield.

On the surface, the Great Shinji-sama wore his usual nonchalant smirk, as if all was perfectly under control.

Internally, though? His heart was pounding so fast his blood couldn’t keep up.

“Haha... Lissy, this is the girl I told you about before—Rin Tohsaka. She’s playing a role in the movie, so I thought I’d bring her along to enjoy Cannes a little.”

Shinji explained the situation in a way even that mutt Cu Chulainn would understand.

“Hmph～”

Cloris gave a noncommittal snort, clearly not satisfied.

“And? What’s this about being one of your women?”

“Oh, that…” Shinji paused for half a second, then forced a calm smile. “Rin isn’t really used to English, you see. She probably just phrased it a little weirdly...”

Before he could finish weaving that excuse, Rin cut in with a perfectly timed verbal dropkick.

“Hey, Shinji. Was what I said that strange? I mean, you're the one who’s always—”

There was no way Rin would let a golden opportunity like this slip through her fingers.

Cover for Shinji? Please. She’d rather expose him for the lying two-timer he was—if only to save this poor woman from suffering any longer.

Stepping past Shinji with confidence, Rin introduced herself.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Rin Tohsaka.”

She extended her hand politely.

“You’re stunning, by the way. I know Shinji’s always chasing after pretty girls, but I didn’t think he’d land someone this high-tier. Color me shocked.”

To Shinji’s horror, Cloris’s eyes lit up like fireworks.

“Oooh! You’re Rin Tohsaka? Shinji talks about you all the time! The genius magi of the Tohsaka family, master of all five elements!”

“Huh? He... talks about me?”

“Of course!”

Cloris nodded enthusiastically. “The childhood rival he just can’t shake off, the cursed connection that binds you two forever, like a pair of hopeless delinquents!”

“Cursed connection... hopeless delinquents...? SHINJI! EXPLAIN. NOW!!”

An ominous pressure erupted from Rin as her mana surged violently. Her long black hair floated behind her, possessed by sheer magical fury.

“C-Cough! Lissy! What are you even saying!?”

‘Crap—those were just some dumb things I mumbled when I was drunk! Why does she remember them so clearly?!’

For just one second, Shinji could sense the Grim Reaper breathing down his neck.

Live by the sword, die by the sword.

He understood that truth all too well now.

“A-Alright, Lissy! Let’s talk over there for a second!”

If those two kept talking any longer, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t live to see the sunrise. Without hesitation, Shinji grabbed Cloris and dragged her aside like his life depended on it.

Because honestly?

It did.

“You’re using the distributor’s pass, right? Then hurry up and head in already.”

Shinji gave a not-so-gentle push. “I’ll take you to your seat.”

With his life clearly in jeopardy, Shinji could no longer afford to play favorites. Right now, his top priority was separating these two ticking time bombs.

Smack

Rin suddenly grabbed Shinji’s shoulder—hard.

“Shinji, I’ve been really curious about Western magecraft lately,” Rin said sweetly, even as her grip made his shoulder creak ominously. “So why don’t you let me escort this lovely lady to her seat instead?”

She gave a charming smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“She’s someone very important, right? It’s only proper that she gets treated with due respect, don’t you agree?”

“I do agree. And I’d love to learn more about Japan’s magecraft culture,” Cloris added with a clap of her hands, her eyes gleaming as she turned to Shinji. “What do you think, Shinji?”

‘Can I even say no here?!’

At that moment, the mighty Shinji-sama had tears in his eyes. Every fiber of his being screamed refusal, but the overwhelming pressure from both women left him with no room to speak.

And so, arm in arm like a pair of longtime friends, Cloris and Rin elegantly made their way into the theater—leaving Shinji all alone at the entrance, a tragic figure in the evening lights.

“That Tohsaka girl seems rather interesting,” a familiar voice said with amused delight.

It was Waver Velvet, who had clearly been enjoying the show from beginning to end. “Having a childhood friend like that? Consider yourself lucky.”

Shinji just gave him a silent smile, saying nothing in return.

‘Just wait until she enrolls at the Clock Tower in two years.’

‘I swear, you’ll come to understand exactly how ‘interesting’ that Tohsaka girl really is, you kidney-wrecked, stomach-ulcered stick-in-the-mud!’

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As the representative of the Time Group, Cloris had been assigned a prime seat—centered and set slightly back, the kind of spot known among cinephiles as the “Emperor’s Throne.”

She figured it must’ve been Waver Velvet who arranged this.

No way would that jerk Shinji put in this much thought for her.

Technically, the Time Group had been given two seats—one for Cloris and one for her assistant.

But with Rin joining the party, the assistant was promptly dismissed and her seat reassigned.

Cloris didn't even blink before waving the poor girl off and letting Rin take her place.

By the time Shinji finally entered the theater, the first thing he saw was them—Rin and Cloris, seated side-by-side, chatting away like best friends who hadn’t seen each other in years.

He stared at the sight with suspicion.

He really, really wanted to know what they were talking about.

But the movie was about to start. He had no choice but to take his seat next to Waver and hope for the best.

‘Please, please don’t let them dig up all my dirt…’

That silent prayer in his heart made even the theater’s luxurious, high-end recliners feel like a bed of nails.

As it turned out, though, the conversation had long since moved away from him.

—Which didn’t mean Shinji escaped unscathed.

Naturally, Rin had kicked things off by dragging his name through the mud.

How could she not?

Opportunities to humiliate Shinji in front of a beautiful woman didn’t come often.

Still, Shinji’s "black history" was a bit too dense.

Once Rin had finished recounting all of his Clock Tower escapades, there really wasn’t much left to say.

And so, their conversation naturally shifted to the movie itself.

Cloris was genuinely interested in acquiring distribution rights for the film.

She wanted to understand more about the project—not because of personal feelings, but because her professional instincts told her Shinji had real talent.

She saw this film as a potential business opportunity.

Her group, the Time Group, had hit a plateau in its current development. Expanding into the film market was a key strategy for their future growth.

That said, this wasn’t a charity.

If Cloris wanted to convince the higher-ups to pick up Shinji’s movie, she’d need cold, hard data to back it up.

As for Shinji’s reputation as a playboy?

Well—she could always double-check with the Clock Tower later.

If Rin’s claims turned out to be false, then as a professional, Cloris figured she ought to help clear Shinji’s name—after all, it wouldn’t do to let a potential business partner’s reputation get smeared.

But if Rin’s words were true… 

Well, well. That was a different story entirely.

Of course, Rin had already guessed what Cloris was thinking.

But she didn’t care in the slightest.

She had only ever said, “I heard that...”—which meant that, technically, she hadn’t said anything definitive. If it turned out to be false, it wasn’t her problem.

Before the conversation could go any further, the giant screen lit up. At the same time, the lights overhead dimmed, and the once-buzzing theater fell into complete silence.

Rin and Cloris also stopped chatting and turned their attention to the front, awaiting the start of the screening.

“It’s starting,” Cloris whispered, a slight thrill rising in her chest.

After hearing Shinji talk big for so long, she was finally about to see if he could back up those words.

“Mm.”

Rin gave a small nod, sitting primly in her seat.

She’d already seen the film multiple times, but as the heir of the Tohsaka family, she wasn’t about to do something uncultured like ruin someone else’s movie experience.

And so, the movie—Fate/Stay Night—began.

Unlike the slow-burning pace of many traditional films, Fate/Stay Night jumped straight into the action. It swiftly laid out its world-building in bold strokes, then dove headfirst into the Holy Grail War—pulling viewers right into the thick of battle with the ferocious duel between Lancer and Archer.

Cloris wasn’t exactly a film critic, but she wasn’t completely clueless either.

She could tell immediately that Fate/Stay Night’s storytelling tempo was leagues apart from typical films.

The pace was fast. Too fast, maybe. For a moment, Cloris found it hard to keep up.

Unaware that Fate/Stay Night was using the rhythm of a tightly-structured commercial blockbuster, she began to worry:

Would regular audiences even accept a film like this?

But it didn’t take long—barely even thirty minutes—before her worries melted away.

Because the audience, serving as the best barometer of success, made it clear to everyone present that this movie was something special.

Unlike the reserved, polite crowds of Japan, Western moviegoers were much more expressive—and they made their enthusiasm known.

The entire theater rang out with cheers and applause, wave after wave of it.

And that, more than any critic’s review, was the clearest possible sign of Fate/Stay Night’s impact.

Just like its lightning-quick opening, the movie didn’t bother with pretentious metaphors or aimless symbolism.

Director Matou didn’t try to be artsy. He didn’t play coy.

The story was direct.

The action scenes were sharp, fast, and utterly dazzling—every fight a visual spectacle of explosions and spellcraft, pushing the audience’s adrenaline through the roof.

The synchronized sound and lights—the literal magecraft of the screen—lit up the theater like a battlefield.

The more intense the visuals became, the louder the cheers. It was as if the only way to calm the audience’s hearts was to scream their lungs out.

And then came the second half.

When Gilgamesh finally made his entrance—

When that glorious Gate of Babylon opened wide—

The audience exploded.

They practically jumped out of their seats in awe.

‘Just how the hell did he even come up with this ridiculous, over-the-top, blinged-out arsenal!?’

Cloris, of course, maintained her dignity.

She didn’t jump or yell like the others. But her eyes kept flicking toward the front row, searching for a certain silver-haired boy.

She desperately wanted to ask him:

‘How did you make a film this exhilarating—without relying on nudity or sex appeal?’

It couldn’t be just flashy visuals. Magecraft alone shouldn’t be able to produce such an intense, visceral thrill.

‘Did... did he actually embed a suggestion spell into the footage?’

The thought sent a shiver down her spine.

After all, Shinji is a specialist in suggestive magecraft.

“You really are a genius, Shinji,” Cloris whispered under her breath.

As the end credits rolled, she was the first to rise from her seat and start clapping.

Her applause rang crisp and clear—and in moments, it was joined by others.

Soon, the entire theater was filled with thunderous clapping.

“Well done, Shinji,” Cloris murmured, eyes glinting. “This film... I’m claiming it.”

With each round of applause, she felt her conviction solidify.

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