Chapter 38: A Rich Lady Wants to Sponsor You—What More Do You Want, Shinji?

Note: This Chapter is Re-Translated on 6 / 15 / 2025

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Chapter 38: A Rich Lady Wants to Sponsor You—What More Do You Want, Shinji?

Morning in Cannes.

Yawning loudly, Rin Tohsaka sluggishly crawled out of bed.

The May sunlight poured through the hotel windows, casting a warm glow over the town. The sea, the sky, and the soft white clouds outside painted a picture so beautiful it could've come straight from an oil painting.

Unfortunately, Rin had neither the time nor the brainpower to admire the view.

Her soul was still trapped in a life-or-death struggle between consciousness and sleep, and her limbs were on autopilot as she shuffled to the bathroom.

Unlike her counterparts in other parallel worlds, Rin's life here was... relatively stable. Her parents were alive, and so she actually had something resembling a normal daily routine. At least she wasn't skipping breakfast every day and suffering from morning low blood pressure.

Not that it helped much—Rin's struggle to wake up in the morning was still legendary.

By the time she finished getting ready and made her way to the hotel restaurant, the entire Fate/Stay Night staff had already finished breakfast and left.

All except for Derek Ford, the ever-composed old veteran, who sat leisurely at a small table with his legs crossed, calmly flipping through a newspaper.

"Take any seat," he said with a warm smile, gesturing to the chair across from him.

He even waved over a waiter and ordered breakfast for her.

"Thanks," Rin replied, finally fully awake enough to resume her usual elegant Tohsaka poise. She took her seat and began nibbling on a baguette and eggs, perfectly graceful.

"Tch, those Spanish media guys are unbelievable."

Derek scowled and tossed aside a Spanish-language newspaper.

"They actually wrote that the only thing Fate/Stay Night was missing... was you and Arturia getting naked. That was the movie's 'only lost potential,' apparently."

Rin, mid-sip of her soup, didn't even flinch. She just raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"They can challenge the Knights of the Round if they want. I won't stop them."

It was film festival season, and media from around the world had brought out special issues just for Cannes. So the fact that Derek got his hands on a Spanish paper wasn't all that surprising.

As for the review itself? Rin genuinely didn't care.

Just like Shinji had said—Fate/Stay Night was never made for critics. It was built for box office.

People could say whatever they wanted in their op-eds; it still wouldn't match the reality of the massive crowds lined up outside the theater.

And while she wasn't even the protagonist of the film, seeing all those fans outside with eyes full of anticipation made Rin feel a quiet kind of pride.

That said, it wasn't all scathing reviews.

Some media outlets actually gave the movie glowing praise.

Like the British ones.

Derek passed her a copy of The Times, and Rin read aloud one of the more embarrassing bits:

"Fate/Stay Night's unrelenting pace and electrifying narrative deliver pure exhilaration. Director Shinji Matou unleashes a boundless imagination that soars far above the clouds.

This once-in-a-generation masterpiece introduces action elements never before explored in film, keeping audiences on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

But above all, it is Matou's impeccable control of atmosphere and character that stands out.

Through tight, unfaltering storytelling, he brings to life the legendary tale of King Arthur, creating a portrayal that will linger in the hearts of all who see it."

Rin, who had just finished her coffee, set the cup down with a clink, then rubbed the goosebumps on her arms.

"This is the first time I've ever seen a newspaper gush like this about one of our films."

Derek chuckled softly and, with twinkling eyes, slid over another paper.

"If you think that's over-the-top, wait 'til you see what The Daily Telegraph had to say."

Rin took a glance—and instantly felt secondhand embarrassment.

Phrases like "divine masterpiece," "the best film in 50 years," and "a feat unmatched in cinematic history" practically leapt off the page.

"This... This is so different from what the rest of Europe is saying!" she muttered, genuinely baffled.

"Do British journalists just not like arthouse films?"

Rin had actually learned the term "arthouse films" from Shinji.

After all, in this world's twisted cinematic landscape, there had never been a clear divide between commercial and artistic films.

Here, it was politically correct to declare:

"All films are a form of art."

"That's just how it is with the British press,"

Derek Ford said with a wink, curling his lips into a sly grin.

"You know who really controls the media over there, don't you?"

After all, the UK still had a functioning aristocracy, and their influence extended into just about everything.

And those old-money magus families? The vast majority of them were nobles.

Back in feudal times, it was only natural that those with overwhelming personal power—like magi—would rise to prominence.

Even though industrial revolutions and the global decline of mystery had chipped away at their influence, pulling some strings to get a few positive headlines in a newspaper was still trivially easy.

It was a far cry from the situation in Japan.

Sure, Japan's top-ranking magi held themselves above the masses just like their European counterparts, but historically, they'd looked down on the mass media as beneath them.

So unlike the Brits, Japanese magi had zero influence over the press.

"Well, whatever," Rin said, taking another sip of coffee.

"Reviews are all smoke anyway. As long as the audience keeps showing up like this, the film's going to be a hit no matter what."

Outside, the once-quiet morning streets of Cannes had already roared back to life.

"I think the negotiation results should come out today, right?"

"Hard to say. But it'll definitely be decided before the festival ends," Derek replied.

"This film craze brought on by the festival won't last forever. Once it dies down, people will move on to the next big thing."

Rin looked up at the blazing Cannes sun and muttered, "I wonder how Shinji's doing in that meeting with Flora-san. I bet they're arguing right now."

She couldn't help but smile at the mental image of those two banging the table at each other like dramatic actors in a stage play.

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Meanwhile, in one of the commercial buildings near downtown Cannes, the Type-Moon team was deep in negotiations with several international film distributors.

The most important discussion?

Who would get the distribution rights in Europe, North America, and Oceania—the regions most directly influenced by the Cannes Film Festival.

They had to move fast.

As long as the Fate/Stay Night hype train was running full speed, it was the perfect time to strike a deal.

Naturally, Shinji—being the absolute core of the film's creative team—was present at every step of the negotiations.

But to put it bluntly…

He wasn't happy with how things were going.

And the reason why...?

"Shinji dear, don't you think your demands are a little too unreasonable?"

Sitting at the far end of the long conference table, Cloris Flora smiled sweetly with her chin resting on both hands.

It was the kind of smile that could freeze boiling water.

Both sides knew they had to strike while the iron was hot.

They exchanged only a few brief pleasantries before diving straight into the numbers and clauses.

And from the very start, the negotiations were rough.

Cloris genuinely admired Shinji's work—his creativity, his film's dynamism, the magical systems he'd constructed so vividly on-screen.

As a fellow magus, she was utterly enchanted by the techniques presented in Fate/Stay Night.

But the moment she stepped into this conference room, it was like all that personal admiration evaporated into the ether.

Here, she was the official representative of the Time Group—and she pushed back hard on everything, refusing to yield even an inch.

A personal love for cinema was one thing.

Business was another.

And the two? Never to be mixed.

If someone like that were on his team, Shinji would've loved her.

But sitting across the table, slashing away at every clause, trying to shave percentages off his deal?

He could barely tolerate it.

Especially when that person happened to be Cloris, the one woman he could never quite win against.

Yeah… The talks weren't going well.

Shinji wasn't asking for anything outrageous.

He simply wanted the Time Group to act as a standard distributor for Fate/Stay Night—a normal, professional release partnership.

To that end, he had even offered a few concessions on the profit-sharing agreement.

Not because he was feeling charitable—far from it.

Shinji's eyes were already set firmly on the future.

If Fate/Stay Night crushed the box office, then everything Type-Moon produced from that point forward would become prime real estate in the eyes of every distributor on the planet.

And when that happened?

It wouldn't be Shinji begging them to take his films.

It would be those companies falling over themselves trying to secure the rights to his next blockbuster.

Of course, Cloris wasn't just going to roll over.

She had come in swinging hard—demanding exclusive film and TV rights to Fate/Stay Night across all Western markets.

And if that wasn't enough, she went even further: proposing that Time Group become Type-Moon's exclusive global distributor from here on out.

It was practically a soft hostile takeover.

It wasn't just Shinji—even Waver Velvet couldn't agree to that.

His own teacher, Lord El-Melloi II, had sunk a mountain of cash and connections into this project.

They didn't do all that so some North American magi conglomerate could swoop in and reap the rewards.

Still, Shinji and Waver both understood how this game was played.

When it came to business, outrageous first offers were standard.

Start high, settle somewhere in the middle—that was the rhythm of negotiation.

"Lissy," Shinji said, tapping his fingers irritably on the table, his brows furrowed.

"I'm not going to hand over everything to Time Group. You know me. That's just not happening."

Damn this woman.

Whether in private life or business, she always tried to swallow him whole.

"Ara~? When you're the one asking for a favor, it's Lissy, huh? But as soon as the mood sours, I go back to Cloris?"

Cloris covered her mouth with a soft laugh, eyes glittering with mischief.

"Can we not talk about pointless things right now?"

Shinji deliberately raised his voice, clearly agitated.

"I already made concessions on profit share. That's more than enough to show my sincerity. But if the Time Group still insists on this—"

"Heh."

Cloris cut him off with a dry, knowing chuckle.

"Your so-called sincerity is nothing more than bait on a hook. Don't think I forgot, Little Shinji—you're the one who once declared you'd bring a thousand films to this world, remember?"

"Who the hell is 'Little Shinji'?!"

Shinji's expression was practically twitching now.

"Lissy, if you're seriously here to negotiate, then how about you show some sincerity of your own?"

"Oh, but I am being sincere."

Cloris leaned back with a relaxed smile.

"I believe in you. I believe in your team. That's why I want to invest in your company. Isn't that normal business?"

She gave him the brightest, most dazzling grin of the day.

"I'm just a rich lady who wants to spoil her darling~ So tell me, Little Shinji—what's there to be unhappy about?"