I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director (Creating Fate Movie In Nasuverse)

Aoko's expression right now was no different than if her own grandfather had suddenly pulled out a handgun and shouted, "Aoko, this is way more useful than magecraft!"

"Grandpa... what is that?" Aoko pointed to the item in Tohko's hands, trying her best to keep a calm tone.

"This? It's a DVD," Tohko Aozaki replied calmly.

'Of course I know that—!' Despite the raging thoughts in her head, Aoko didn't dare show any of it on her face.

"I mean, what DVD is it?" she asked, trying to clarify.

"Hmm... Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel, that piece of junk the Matou family brat put together." Tohko glanced at the cover and read the title without a hint of emotion.

"…The Matou family... Is it Matou Shinji?" Aoko had to pretend to be a complete novice when it came to Fate in front of her grandfather, maintaining the facade of being a sweet, clueless granddaughter. 

She had to act as if she knew nothing about it.

For Aoko, this was a challenge. 

She was well aware of her tendency to speak her mind impulsively, so every word she said about Fate had to be carefully chosen.

So far, she had done a good job keeping up the act, and Tohko hadn't noticed anything suspicious.

"Yes, it's that Matou Shinji," Tohko replied with disdain in his voice. "I heard someone say he misrepresents magecraft in his movie, insulting the legacy of earlier magi. He even had the audacity to show modern magi using Reality Marbles. Ridiculous!"

A hint of anger flashed in Tohko's eyes as he continued: "There's no way modern magi can use Reality Marbles! They aren't fae favored by the world!"

"And it's not one of those cheap tricks to achieve the effect of a Reality Marble. It's supposed to be the real thing! If there's a modern magus who can use a genuine Reality Marble, let him stand before me! I'd immediately take him as my apprentice!"

The "cheap trick" Tohko referred to was likely Kiritsugu Emiya's Time Alter. 

By cutting off the flow of time within a specific area from the outside world's "time flow," it could technically be considered a type of Reality Marble, according to the textbook definition.

However, this shortcut approach was vastly different from true Reality Marbles like Unlimited Blade Works or Ionioi Hetairoi, which could erode the fabric of reality itself.

At least to traditionalist magi, only Reality Marbles like Unlimited Blade Works were considered "real" Reality Marbles.

While Shinji might have thought that was complete nonsense, this viewpoint was very popular among the aristocratic and conservative magi—probably because no one had ever successfully used a Reality Marble.

This is why Tohko Aozaki was so confident that Matou Shinji's film was nonsense and why he made the bold statement that he would take Shirou as his apprentice.

However, in his self-righteous confidence, Tohko failed to notice that his granddaughter's expression had turned very strange.

'Grandpa, please don't set up such obvious flags…'

It was a good thing they were the only two people at home. 

Aoko couldn't even imagine how excited her older sister would be if she had heard what their grandfather just said.

According to her sister, although Shinji had indeed helped cheat a little during the process, Emiya Shirou had actually managed to manifest a Reality Marble.

However, Aoko couldn't just say that out loud—there was no way she could explain how she knew.

'Good thing I'm the only one who heard that. I just hope grandpa doesn't start spouting this nonsense in front of Shinji or Touko in the future.'

Aoko secretly sighed in relief, then sat down next to her grandfather with an awkward smile. 

She asked, "Grandpa, where did you get this DVD? I thought you always looked down on this kind of stuff made by commoners."

"Because someone kept nagging in my ear every day, telling me to hurry up and criticize that Matou family brat," Tohko grumbled. "I said I'd at least need some proof before I could do that, so they sent me this."

Despite his deep disdain for Shinji, as a strict old academic, Tohko Aozaki adhered to the principle that one shouldn't criticize someone without evidence, so he asked for a copy of the Fate/stay night DVD.

'Grandpa, if only you were that rigorous in your approach to magical theory, then maybe Touko wouldn't have left.'

Aoko rubbed her temples, trying to maintain her smile. 

However, Tohko's next words nearly made her lose it completely.

"Those people really are useless. I asked them for this a month ago, and they only got it to me yesterday."

'Wait a second! Isn't the official release still a few hours away?! How did you manage to get it so early?!'

Aoko's previously awkward yet polite smile instantly turned into a smile that was still awkward and polite but filled with deep regret.

'Grandpa! Why didn't you take it out yesterday?! That way, I could have gone to Tokyo with Alice today and spoiled everything in front of those guys!'

Aoko hated spoilers, but if she had the chance to spoil something for others, she would never pass it up.

Especially since her friend Alice was an ultra-diehard fan of Shinji, to the point that she treated his autograph as a calming charm.

'To know the plot ahead of Alice, to rub it in her face, to watch her struggle between frustration and helplessness... Damn it! Grandpa, do you know what you've made me miss out on?!'

While the little version of Aoko in her head was rolling on the ground in frustration, the real Aoko kept her polite smile as she took the DVD from her grandfather and put it into the player.

"Then, Grandpa, let me play it for you," Aoko said.

'Well, at least I get to see Heaven's Feel ahead of time, so it's not a total loss,' Aoko consoled herself as she watched the Type-Moon logo appear on the TV screen.

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While Aoko and her grandfather were watching the first episode of Heaven's Feel, Shibamatsu and his group finally managed to enter the store to buy the DVDs.

"Here you go."

Before Shibamatsu even asked, the store clerk handed over a sealed bag and whispered, "Since there's a two-copy limit per person, yours was pre-packed."

"Thanks." Shibamatsu smiled as he took the bag and jogged out of the store.

At this late hour, when the trains had already stopped running, Shibamatsu had no choice but to take a taxi to reach the club as quickly as possible.

Luckily, Shibamatsu wasn't short on money, and the club wasn't too far from Akihabara anyway.

As soon as he stepped through the club's doors, before his friends—who had been waiting impatiently—could urge him to hurry, Shibamatsu opened the bag and handed one of the DVDs to the person nearest to the projector.

"It's not even 1 a.m. yet. We should be among the first to watch this, right?" Shibamatsu asked as he collapsed onto the sofa.

Alice shook her head slightly, "No, North America probably got it a bit earlier than us. Unfortunately, HBO hasn't launched in Japan yet, and you can't watch the premium channels online."

"At least we're definitely the first in Japan," Shibamatsu boasted proudly. "Everyone else I saw was too stingy to take a taxi."

Another magus teased, "Is it really that urgent to watch the first episode? I bet it starts out the same as the other two."

This was the warning that Shinji had given fans before Heaven's Feel even launched.

"The opening of the OVA won't be too different overall. This is to emphasize the core of the Fate series—that even though the opening is the same, different choices lead to entirely different endings."

Recalling what Shinji had said during an interview, one of the magus lying on the floor, munching on chips, sighed, "That's just the multiverse theory, right? Who doesn't know about that?"

Since the multiverse theory was tied to the Second Magic, it was a required subject for mages—about as basic as the Pythagorean theorem in math. 

No mage could claim ignorance of it.

Even so, as Heaven's Feel began to play, Shibamatsu's anticipation started to fade.

This was the third time he had seen a similar story, and even though there was a certain thrill in being one of the first to watch it by a few hours, it didn't entirely make up for the repetitive plot.

The others felt the same way. 

They snacked while watching, occasionally offering lighthearted commentary on certain scenes.

Even Alice, a diehard fan, spent more time sipping tea than paying attention to the screen.

However, as the plot progressed, the magus in the club began to notice that this version was different from the movie and TV adaptations.

"Isn't there a bit too much focus on the school drama?" Shibamatsu asked curiously. "Am I watching a high school romance now?"

Shibamatsu wasn't the only one questioning the plot; the young mages in the room all shared the same confusion.

In both the movie and TV versions, Fate/stay night never spent much time on the school storyline. It was always skimmed over quickly.

Unlimited Blade Works had a bit more detail, thanks to the longer TV format, but it was mostly focused on character introductions.

The OVA, however, was completely different—spending the first 20 minutes entirely on the relationship between Shirou Emiya and Sakura Matou.

The slow, awkward build-up between the two—getting closer yet hesitant in their feelings—might have been heartwarming, but the issue was that they were watching this as part of a late-night movie marathon. 

Was this really what they came for?!!

If it weren't for the fact that the actors were all familiar faces, and that Rin had already summoned Archer, everyone in the room might have thought Shibamatsu had accidentally bought the wrong DVD.

"How did this get an R18 rating? Does Shinji think that holding hands is somehow 'adult content'?"

As Shirou and Sakura shared yet another longing glance at the 18-minute mark, someone finally couldn't hold back and made a sarcastic comment.

Another person retorted, "I'd rather go home and watch [bleep]'s collection of [bleep]. That's way more R18 than this. You guys have no idea—"

Noticing that a few of the girls were glaring at him, he quickly shut his mouth.

'Too bad.'

The guys all looked disappointed—they had been eager to hear his unique take on that particular teacher's collection.

"Isn't this Sakura the director's sister?" one of the girls mused, tapping her chin. "Maybe she complained to her brother about not having enough screen time, so they gave her extra scenes this time around?"

"If that's the case, I'll definitely have a word with Sir Matou," Alice said coldly.

Though this sweet, innocent love story might seem nice to some, it was nowhere near enough to match the excitement Alice had built up for Heaven's Feel.

No magecraft, no thrilling battles—Alice couldn't help but feel like 20 minutes of her life had just been wasted.

BANG!

Finally, at the 22-minute mark, Archer and Lancer clashed on the school field.

BANG! BANG!

The sound of crimson spears and black-and-white swords colliding rang out like the crack of a storyteller's gavel, announcing that the Holy Grail War had officially begun!

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