Chapter 57: A 500-Yen Mindset

Chapter 57: A 500-Yen Mindset

Thanks to thorough preparation and the excellent condition of the main cast, filming for Fate/Zero was progressing far more smoothly than Shinji had anticipated—in fact, they were ahead of schedule.

Even Kariya’s antics had their upside—his presence brought so much comic relief that, despite the tragic nature of the story they were filming, the entire crew stayed in high spirits.

After his prank war with Tokiomi, Kariya set his sights on nearly every actor he shared a scene with.

Fortunately, most of his tricks were harmless—just little jokes to lighten the mood—so Shinji decided not to interfere.

—Except in one case.

Zouken.

Because Kariya was, after all, still a Matou—which meant his pettiness was easily on par with Shinji’s own.

To get revenge on the old man for dragging him into this whole cursed family mess, Kariya somehow got his hands on a can of insecticide spray.

Then, the moment Zouken wandered too close on set, Kariya sprayed him directly in the face.

The aftermath?

Let’s call it a double KO.

Kariya successfully wiped out two of Zouken’s precious familiars—and Zouken, in turn, nearly caved in his son’s skull with a cane so hard it sounded like a scarab cracking.

—

“Judging by how things are going, as long as we maintain this pace…”

In the set’s makeshift dining hall, Shinji was digging into a pork cutlet lunch while chatting across the table with Udagawa Nao.

“I can finish filming by October,” Shinji said confidently to the Bandai representative across from him.

“If everything stays on track, we’ll have the first rough cut ready before year’s end.”

Udagawa nodded with satisfaction, already calculating timelines.

“That means we can begin promotional campaigns by New Year’s. Plenty of time for a strong launch.”

With Fate/stay night already a major hit, Bandai had gone all-in on backing Fate/Zero—in fact, they were the biggest domestic investor in the project.

Naturally, they were eager to track the movie’s progress and often sent someone down to Fuyuki to check on the shoot.

Strictly speaking, this kind of progress check didn’t require someone as senior as Udagawa Nao; any office staffer could have done it.

After all, their contract with Shinji didn’t allow Bandai to meddle creatively.

But as Udagawa herself put it: “This is my way of showing respect.”

Though Shinji suspected she just wanted to spend more time with Kariya.

"Udagawa, you are here again?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow as his uncle sat down beside him with a bowl of ramen, seamlessly inserting himself into the conversation.

“Yep,” Udagawa replied modestly, “Fate/Stay Night made us a fortune—naturally we’re keeping an eye on the next one.”

Truthfully, calling it “a fortune” was an understatement.

Fate/stay night had already pulled in 12.4 billion yen at the Japanese box office alone—and that number was still climbing.

Globally, it had hit a whopping 470 million USD.

Breaking 500 million was a given.

600? Not out of the question.

Even though Bandai didn’t earn from the global box office, they were raking it in from merchandise thanks to their distribution deal with Time Group—especially in the Western market, where toy sales were still climbing.

Shinji had already heard whispers from Waver—internal rumors from Time Group’s side said the merch revenue was going to be record-breaking.

“I really hope this one sells just as well…”

Kariya sighed wistfully, though his eyes were locked firmly on Shinji.

As an actor, he still hadn’t broken into the big leagues.

But if Fate/Zero became a smash hit, it might just be the breakthrough he needed.

After all, the main cast of Fate/Stay Night had already been flooded with offers—if not for the fact that Heroic Spirits like Arturia were bound to Fuyuki, they’d be hopping from set to set by now.

And watching that happen… made Kariya deeply, visibly, jealous.

“Don’t worry, Kariya-ojisan,” Shinji said, patting him reassuringly on the back.

“By next summer, Fate/Zero will be on every screen in the country.”

As they chatted, Shinji turned to Udagawa Nao with a more serious tone.

“Udagawa-san, I’ll be counting on you for the publicity side of things. This kind of film lives and dies by its marketing.”

Commercial cinema wasn’t like art-house films.

Good reviews alone didn’t guarantee success—what truly mattered was wide-scale promotion.

He absolutely didn’t want a repeat of Fate/Stay Night’s sluggish rollout strategy.

“You can rest easy on that front,” Udagawa replied, taking a sip of hot tea.

“At Bandai, we want this film to be a hit even more than you do.”

Even if they couldn’t secure exclusive rights for all Fate/Zero merchandise the way they did with Fate/Stay Night, as long as the movie matched its predecessor’s performance, Bandai was still going to make a killing.

“I’ll give it everything I’ve got,” Shinji promised. “This is only the second film of my life, after all.”

“Then here’s to your success, Director Shinji.”

Udagawa smiled warmly and brought a spoonful of rice to her mouth.

“Mmm… Your cafeteria’s pork cutlet bowl is amazing. Honestly, way better than the one at Bandai’s own headquarters.”

“Hah, of course it is. The head chef’s none other than a certain white-haired super-mom.”

The culinary skills of EMIYA were beyond reproach.

As the ultimate form of Emiya Shirou—at least in the domestic arts—his cooking had reached master chef levels.

Plenty of crew members actually preferred eating at the studio cafeteria over dining at fancy restaurants nearby.

Kariya, noticing Udagawa enjoying the pork bowl, couldn’t help jumping in.

“Nao, you don’t know the half of it—this pork bowl is legendary here! See that lemon-haired British guy over there?”

He pointed with his chopsticks toward Kayneth, who was sitting at another table devouring his own bowl of pork cutlet.

“Ever since the first time he tried it, he’s been addicted. Now he eats one every single lunch.”

“For real?” Udagawa blinked in surprise.

“He looks like a proper nobleman. Hard to believe he’d enjoy something so… ordinary.”

“Oh, it’s real,” Kariya said proudly, puffing out his chest like he had made the food himself.

Meanwhile, Shinji simply continued eating in silence.

No way he was going to ruin his uncle’s “blissful moment.”

Because the truth is, Shinji knew exactly how Kayneth got into pork bowls in the first place.

The first time Kayneth stepped into the cafeteria, he had intended to order a beef bowl.

But, too proud to ask for help with the kanji menu—and unwilling to show ignorance—he made a wild guess.

And so, he accidentally ordered pork.

Why?

Because this lemon-haired idiot thought the kanji for pork, 「豚」, was related to “cow”, since the radical on the left, 「月」, looked like “moon” in English— and apparently, “moon” sounds like a cow’s moo.

When Shinji first heard Kayneth explain that logic himself, he nearly flipped the entire table.

Why the hell would Japanese kanji meanings be based on English pronunciation?!

Did fairies use your brain as toilet paper and flush it down a fantasy toilet, or what?!

Sure, it turned out fine in the end—Kayneth fell in love with the pork bowl and made it a daily ritual.

But still, every time Shinji saw him eating one, his soul itched.

'Serves you right, you lemon-head. That receding hairline is karma!'

Muttering curses inwardly, Shinji scooped up the last bit of rice in his bowl and popped it into his mouth.

He wiped his lips with a napkin and stood up.

“I’m done. You two carry on. Also—”

As Shinji stood up, he gave Kariya a pat on the shoulder and leaned down to whisper in his ear:

“I won’t be the third wheel. You better make your move, Kariya-ojisan. If you’re gonna mooch, at least chew with confidence.”

“Shut it, brat!”

Kariya turned to glare at him—only to find Shinji had already vanished like smoke in the wind.

“That little punk’s got no respect…” Kariya grumbled with a half-embarrassed chuckle. He turned back to Udagawa with a more composed smile.

“Anyway, where were we?”

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

After lunch, Shinji left the cafeteria and returned directly to the Fate/Zero soundstage.

But the moment he stepped inside, he was greeted by a curious sight near the entrance:

Rin Tohsaka and Ophelia Phamrsolone were chatting with his younger sister Sakura, keeping company with a tall, elegant girl.

Her back was to him, but that delicate, willowy figure…

That floor-length, silvery hair…

Shinji recognized her instantly.

The moment his eyes landed on her, it was as though a psychic link had connected them.

The girl turned—right on cue—and her gaze locked onto his with pinpoint precision.

Their eyes met in midair.

Her face lit up in delight.

His… froze in a perfect portrait of dread.

Still, as Cloris Flora waved to him excitedly, Shinji could only grit his teeth and brace himself.

He picked up the pace and walked over.

“Lissy, what are you doing here? And why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

Shinji tried to sound annoyed—tried to be firm—but there was an edge of nervous guilt in his tone.

Cloris folded her arms, her smile playful.

“Because if I had told you, someone might’ve used ‘urgent business in Tokyo’ as an excuse to vanish and ghost the whole crew.”

“Who? Me?! Who would do something so irresponsible? This production costs money every single day, you know!”

Shinji sounded righteous.

—So righteous, in fact, that it only made it more obvious she’d hit the nail on the head.

And then he made the mistake of continuing:

“Lissy, you just arrived in Japan, didn’t you? Shouldn’t you be resting to adjust your time zone? You should be napping at the hotel right now—”

Cloris narrowed her eyes and jabbed him lightly in the chest with a finger.

“You meet me for the first time in months and your first move is to kick me out? You really missed me, huh?”

“No! I didn’t mean it like that—!”

Shinji’s mouth twitched.

He was scrambling for a way to explain himself, but found none.

Off to the side, Rin was watching the drama unfold, a smirk creeping up her face.

Ophelia nudged her in the ribs, prompting her to finally, reluctantly, move away from the scene.

But not without tossing in a final jab:

“I’ll bet you 500 yen,” Rin whispered.

“That Shinji's bringing Flora-san to his hotel room to be alone with her.”

Ophelia didn’t hesitate:

“I’m in. But I don’t think he’ll do it. Boss isn’t that irresponsible.”

To the loyal assistant, Shinji Matou was a man of vision and duty—not someone who would abandon his work just for a taste of “personal happiness.”

“I don’t think Onii-sama’s going to lay a hand on Flora-san, either.”

Sakura spoke up with a sideways glance.

She, more than anyone, understood Shinji’s very selective taste in women.

Cloris Flora… wasn’t in his strike zone.

“And besides,” she added, crossing her arms, “you’re betting 500 yen? That’s your wager? That’s your entire mental range?”

Rin scratched her nose awkwardly.

'I was gonna bet more… but I literally only have 500 yen left in my wallet…'

---

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