Chapter 52: Shinji: Waver, What Goes Around Comes Around

                                 

Chapter 52: Shinji: Waver, What Goes Around Comes Around

Squelch

With a sound like fabric being ripped apart, the golden tip of a spear sliced cleanly through the sea monster prop’s body.

“Cut! That’s a wrap for today, everyone. Great job!”

Shinji’s voice rang out from behind the monitor, full of satisfaction.

“Phew...”

Diarmuid let out a long breath, setting his twin spears aside as he wiped his face with a towel.

For the sake of realism, the inside of the sea monster models was filled with slimy, viscous goo—so that when they were “killed,” the effect looked convincingly organic.

But naturally, that made things less than pleasant for the actors doing the slaying.

Diarmuid wasn’t someone who’d call himself a clean freak, but even he found the gunk hard to stomach.

“This stuff is seriously— huh?”

Still toweling off, he noticed Shinji pointing a handheld camera directly at him, snapping shots like a paparazzi on a deadline.

“Master, didn’t you say filming was done?”

Shinji didn’t even look up.

“The movie shoot is done. I’m filming behind-the-scenes footage now. With a face like yours, it’d be criminal not to grab some extra material.”

After seeing how well Gilgamesh’s smoldering looks had captivated the female demographic, Shinji was more than ready to copy-paste that strategy into Fate/Zero.

And Diarmuid? With that sculpted face and prince-like aura, he was perfect bait.

Shinji had even considered launching a male Servant idol group.

Unfortunately, staffing was a problem.

Aside from Diarmuid and Lancelot, he didn’t have enough guys who could qualify. The bare minimum was three, and he was one short.

It couldn’t be helped, after all, Iskandar was definitely not idol material.

Cu Chulainn had already been molded by Director Matou into a full-on comedy character.

EMIYA—while handsome—didn’t quite hit the same “heartthrob” level as Diarmuid and Lancelot.

Assassin? His presence was so low it might as well be negative. Whether he was in the group or not wouldn’t change anything.

As for Gilgamesh…

The fact that the guy was showing up to work without murdering the director was already a miracle.

Ask him to perform in a concert? Shinji would probably end up gift-wrapped in chain and dangled from a tower.

“Ugh... if only I had summoned Gawain instead.”

Shinji muttered to himself before perking up.

“By the way, does your mole still work in videos and photos?”

“My... mole?” Diarmuid looked puzzled.

“I’ve never really tested that. I wouldn’t know.”

He was being honest—when he was alive, there was no such thing as high-res images or digital footage.

“Well, guess we’ll find out later.”

Satisfied with the amount of content he’d captured, Shinji finally handed off the camera to a waiting assistant.

“All right, now it’s really over.”

He beckoned to Diarmuid. “Clean yourself up and come with me.”

“Come with you? Where to?” Diarmuid asked, tilting his head.

Shinji grinned like a fox.

“Why, to pick up your Master, of course.”

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Fuyuki City – Train Station

Since Servants couldn’t leave Fuyuki, Shinji hadn’t arranged for airport pickup.

Instead, they waited at the city’s main train station.

“This is kind of a hassle, isn’t it?”

Irisviel mumbled as she looked around. “If we’re going to be doing this often, maybe we should just build an airport in Fuyuki.”

“Sure,” Shinji replied casually. “That’d make it way easier for me to travel to Europe or the States. Does your family still have a bunch of empty land in Fuyuki?”

“Hmm—” “Nope, nope! We definitely don’t!”

Before Irisviel could respond, Kiritsugu jumped in, voice sharp with panic.

He knew all too well how easily his wife got swept up in wild ideas.

Grabbing her by the arm, he quickly started dragging her away from Shinji before she could even think about actually following through.

He knew that if Shinji kept sweet-talking her like this, Irisviel really might end up building an airport in Fuyuki City.

It wasn’t like the Einzbern family didn’t have the money to do it—but even if you’re rich, there are better ways to spend it.

Seeing that his attempt had failed, Shinji gave a regretful shrug.

To be fair, if Fuyuki did end up becoming a major film hub someday, having an airport would make perfect sense.

But for now, that was thinking too far ahead.

Shinji decided to table that dream until the local film industry had global influence.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long. The British delegation showed up at the station shortly after, having already notified Shinji of their arrival.

“I thought that noble of yours would show up in a private car,” Diarmuid commented, rubbing his chin.

“I asked, actually. But Kayneth said arriving by train would feel more ceremonial.”

Shinji chuckled under his breath. “Classic aristocrat vibes—gotta make an entrance.”

He stepped forward to greet the arriving guests, taking the lead with a friendly smile.

“Kayneth, welcome to Fuyuki City.”

Shinji extended a hand toward the three figures at the front of the group.

“Shinji Matou. Looks like we’re finally meeting on Japanese soil.”

Unlike in his Clock Tower office, where he let loose freely, Kayneth was far more composed in public.

Of course, that was Shinji’s interpretation.

From Kayneth’s point of view, the only reason he’d ever lost his temper at Shinji was because the man was infuriating beyond belief.

“Kayneth. Waver.”

Shinji’s smile widened. “Make yourselves at home here in Fuyuki. Eat, drink, enjoy yourselves when you’re not shooting. And don’t worry, the water here isn’t calcium-rich. It won’t affect your hairlines.”

A vein visibly popped on Kayneth’s forehead. “Are you still going on about my hair?”

The woman standing beside him giggled, covering her mouth with elegant fingers.

“Heehee~~ So this is the famous Shinji Matou you kept talking about. He really is amusing.”

Shinji took one glance at her and immediately adjusted his posture, greeting her with proper gentlemanly etiquette.

He gently shook her hand, then promptly let go and stepped back to a respectful distance.

This was, after all, Kayneth’s fiancée—and the last thing Shinji wanted was to give him the wrong idea.

With a small bow, Shinji greeted her formally:

“You must be Miss Archelot. A pleasure to meet you.”

This young lady—Leigh Euphia Archelot—was the daughter of the head of the Botany Department at the Clock Tower, and Kayneth’s current fiancée.

Current, because his previous one, Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, didn’t quite make it down the aisle.

Not that Shinji had anything to do with that.

In fact, by the time Shinji enrolled at the Clock Tower, Kayneth and his ex-fiancée had already parted ways.

The details of their breakup remained a mystery.

When the man is one of the Twelve Lords and the woman’s father is not only another Lord but also one of the Big Three, you can bet no one dared gossip too loudly.

Kayneth’s engagement to Leigh was a fairly recent development—one that signaled he had finally closed the book on that failed engagement.

But don’t make the mistake of thinking Leigh was just some ambitious social climber.

She wasn’t a chicken scratching her way up to a golden branch—she was the phoenix born in the canopy.

The Archelot family currently held control over the entire Botany Department.

That said, they weren’t your average stiff-collared aristocrats.

Despite being high-ranking nobles, they were unusually close to the media.

They’d even dabbled in the arms industry.

You could call them the “progressive nobles” among the old-money elites—maybe that’s why Kayneth found Leigh a better match.

And Leigh herself?

Far from being a quiet, docile bride-to-be, she was no stranger to the spotlight.

Though a magus, she had long harbored a dream of becoming an actress and had been active in Britain’s entertainment circles for years.

In fact, the real reason Kayneth had agreed to act in Fate/Zero at all was because Shinji had promised Leigh the role of “Sola” in the film.

To Shinji’s mind, Kayneth—now in his thirties—was only slightly better at wooing women than a kid who teases his crush on the playground.

Sure, if you squint really hard, bringing your fiancée onto the battlefield could pass as a parallel world version of the ‘bringing your spouse to work place’ trope.

But getting your current fiancée to play your ex-fiancée on-screen?

Now that’s a plot twist.

‘Well, whatever. As long as Kayneth’s happy.’

Shinji shrugged inwardly. It wasn’t his marriage on the line, after all.

Let that blonde sourpuss stress himself out if things go sideways.

On the other side, Leigh Euphia Archelot returned the greeting with grace and poise.

“It’s an honor to work with you, Director Matou. I’m truly delighted to be joining such an excellent production.”

She followed her words with a radiant smile, clearly aiming to leave a strong first impression on Shinji.

After all, Fate/Stay Night had already pulled in over $500 million globally.

It might not have broken every record, but it was easily among the top-grossing films of all time.

And Arturia—the film’s King Arthur—had become a household name across Europe.

People might not know what their mayor looked like, but everyone knew the blonde, blue-eyed King of Knights.

Getting close to a director like Shinji, in charge of such a franchise, wasn’t just smart—it was necessary.

“I look forward to working with you closely,” Leigh said with a charming tilt of her head.

“Likewise,” Shinji replied, still flashing his gentlemanly smile.

“I’m sure you’ll enjoy your time here. Kayneth made quite a few... ‘requests’ for your sake.”

Standing slightly ahead, Kayneth gave a discreet thumbs-up behind his back.

But before he could finish appreciating Shinji’s solidarity—

The man casually threw him under the bus.

“Though I’ll admit, Kayneth can be a bit childish when it comes to relationships. Half of his requests were honestly just him being a handful. You’ve got your work cut out for you, taking care of such a big baby.”

Kayneth’s hidden thumbs-up slowly rotated downward into a thumbs-down.

Shinji, as if nothing had happened, moved on to introduce Diarmuid to Kayneth.

Since they’d be working closely together in the upcoming shoot, it made sense to let them get acquainted early.

As for Shinji himself, he turned to Waver and gave the man a solid slap on the shoulder.

“Yo, Waver! Long time no see!”

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Waver rubbed his shoulder and shot him a glare.

“We literally just met in June.”

Shinji grinned like a fox up to no good.

“I just wanted to take a good look at you. Etch your face into my memory.”

“What are you plotting now...?”

Waver instinctively took a step back—only to bump into something solid behind him.

No, not something.

Someone.

A muscle mountain over two meters tall.

“Hahaha! So you’re the kid, huh?”

Iskandar’s booming laughter echoed through the station.

“Looking forward to working with you!”

“W-Working my ass! Shinji, what the hell is going on?!”

Shinji’s smile grew ever so slightly wider.

“Oh, Waver~ Karma really is a thing, isn’t it?”

“Remember Cannes? When you used Lissy to mess with me?”

Waver opened his mouth in protest, but before he could say a word, the giant behind him grabbed him in a headlock and shoved something into his mouth.

“Mmph?! Cough—what the hell was that?! Was that... alcohol?!”

Waver stared at the small bottle in his hand, lips tingling from the weird aftertaste.

“Alcohol? Nah. That was Aptx–4869.”

“What the hell is—”

But before he could finish the sentence, Waver’s eyelids grew heavy. His head spun. His knees wobbled.

“Sleep tight, Waver,” Shinji said cheerfully.

“When you wake up, you’ll find yourself in a brand-new world.”

“You—”

Waver’s words trailed off as his eyes rolled back.

And then—he collapsed into Iskandar’s waiting arms, completely unconscious.

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