NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Would You Like Some Mapo Tofu?
In the end, driven by shame and pride, Rin staunchly resisted using the product provided by Shinji.
Furthermore, seemingly to prove her resolute stance to Shinji, Rin not only refused but also confidently declared a colossal proclamation.
"I'm only 16 now, and I'm sure I'll develop more in the future! The current situation is definitely not my endpoint!!"
Shinji felt that Rin was merely indulging in wishful thinking.
After all, Shinji had traversed countless parallel worlds of Type-Moon and witnessed various versions of Tohsaka Rin.
From being the head of the Tohsaka family to a pirate captain, and even being possessed by a goddess, which version of Rin hadn't Shinji seen?
Regardless of the version, Rin's body curve had essentially reached its limit.
The only exception was Ereshkigal, but Shinji was more inclined to believe that it was an artist's drawing mistake, because the official data had Ereshkigal's three-dimensional measurements identical to the one in front of him.
Regarding whether Rin could further develop, Shinji always held a stance of natural progression and indifference.
Anyway, the greatest selling point of Rin has always been her legs, legs, and more legs.
However, no matter how you looked at it, Rin's current form was already her limit. To go any further, one would have to wait for her to wake up and continue her dream talk.
Therefore, Shinji responded confidently to his childhood friend's declaration, "The thing is right here with me. Whenever you need it, just come find me. As for the price, I'll keep it at the original rate, absolutely no price increase."
"Even if I, Tohsaka Rin, never grow any further and remain at this level for the rest of my life, I won't use your junky stuff!!"
Watching Rin point up and down with her index finger, Shinji shrugged his shoulders and quipped, "Then I'll look forward to the day you truly want it."
With that said, taking advantage of Rin pondering what his retort meant, Shinji discreetly used his magecraft to activate his specially crafted magecraft attire on Arturia.
Under Shinji's controlled magical flow, the gelatinous substance suddenly came to life, resembling jelly, and swiftly slipped into Arturia's neckline.
"Ugh..."
The icy-cold sensation caused Arturia to emit a muffled hum, and her cheeks involuntarily flushed with a tinge of red.
Luckily, the peculiar sensation from the attire only lasted for a brief few seconds. As the "false chest" shape settled and solidified, its color transformed to match Arturia's skin tone perfectly, and its temperature rose to match Arturia's body heat.
From an external perspective, aside from Arturia's bust suddenly gaining a size, everything else remained unchanged, appearing incredibly natural.
"Hmm... truly remarkable." Arturia gave it a little shake and commented, "Aside from a slight increase in weight, there's no discomfort at all. Master, this invention of yours— Master, what are you doing?"
Lifting her head, Arturia realized that Shinji was directing a camera towards her.
"Your expression just now was fantastic!" Shinji gave Arturia a thumbs-up, "A naturally bashful expression like that is definitely worth capturing! With a change in background, it might even make it into the final cut."
...
The corners of the King of Knights' mouth twitched unnaturally.
"Master, sometimes I really can understand why Rin dislikes you so much."
Arturia murmured under her breath.
"Thanks for the compliment."
Shinji smiled gleefully.
With the aid of the jelly-like attire, Shinji successfully captured the nearly perfect image he had envisioned: Arturia and Rin together, nearly cheek-to-cheek.
Of course, as someone aspiring to create a world-class commercial film, Shinji had no intention of filming anything inappropriate.
Rather than showing a scene where a turn-straight-to-yuri lover would think that there is a possible chance for Rin and Arturia becoming a couple in one of the timeline, the scene in his movie merely showcasing their perfect looks and slightly enhanced (emphasis on "slightly") ideal figures.
Shinji had never entertained the idea of turning Fate/stay night into a restricted-rated film that minors couldn't watch.
Right from the beginning, Shinji's goal for the film's rating was in line with what most commercial films aimed for in their previous lives: the PG-13 rating, which stands for Parental Guidance Suggested for ages 13 and above.
As a result, Shinji didn't include the mana replenishment scenes from the game's original version (R-18), opting instead for the all-ages adaptation specifically made by Mushroom for console platforms.
However, due to the aberrant development of the entertainment industry in this parallel world, the PG-13 rating was practically the least valued category.
In this bizarre parallel world, the highest-grossing films were either rated R (for adults) or G (for general audiences).
The former catered to the preferences of mature viewers, while the latter represented the children and family markets.
Therefore, filmmakers in this world viewed the PG-13 rating as falling short of attracting adult audiences like the R-18 rating did, while also failing to capture the broad all-ages market of the G rating.
Considered somewhat mediocre, falling somewhere in between, the PG-13 rating was rarely chosen for films, except for a few youth-oriented school dramas.
It's interesting to think about how, if another director from this parallel world were to handle it, the scenes featuring Arturia and Rin would likely be turned into explicit content meant for adults only.
And surely, even without much thought, Shinji could anticipate that these directors' so-called "artistic scenes" would mostly revolve around nudity, nudity, and more nudity.
To be honest, Shinji had no respect for those old perverts who claimed everything was art while harboring nothing but lust in their hearts.
If they were really so lecherous, they should learn from Shinji himself and try to charm girls with a handsome face, rather than using the guise of art to behave like rogues. That's the way of a true hero, after all.
Of course, even in an all-ages version, this scene couldn't just be the three of them sitting awkwardly on a bed, holding hands. There had to be some relatively ambiguous moments, capturing the charm of the two young ladies.
To be precise, while Shinji didn't aim for an R rating, he was certainly pushing the boundaries with the shots he had chosen, testing the limits of what would be approved.
Shinji had his reasons for doing this. In his previous life, the commercial film industry operated on the concept of "Two Pillars," referring to the two most appealing elements of successful films: "Pillow" scenes and "Fist" scenes.
"Fist" represented action scenes, while "Pillow" referred to intimate scenes. These two aspects were always the most effective tools for drawing in audiences in the world of commercial cinema.
Arturia and Rin had already impeccably portrayed the "Pillow" scenes, leaving the more crucial "Fist" scenes of Fate/stay night to be showcased.
When it came to these "Fist" scenes, Shinji wasn't going to be as subtle as he was with the "Pillow" scenes. He aimed to be more direct and forceful in conveying the action, much unlike the nuances employed in the romantic aspects.
There isn't any profound philosophy or pretentious artistry here. Apart from the constraints imposed by the rating that limit the depiction of gore, Shinji crammed everything stimulating and adrenaline-pumping into the "Fist" scenes: intensity, directness, explosions, light pollution—every element that could spike adrenaline levels was packed into these scenes.
This approach undoubtedly raised the difficulty of shooting action scenes and caused delays in the filming schedule. But for Shinji, quality took precedence over speed for his debut film. He didn't mind taking some extra time to achieve perfection.
Furthermore, action scenes were the primary means of testing his magecraft techniques for filming.
The previous scenes involving dialogue and character development didn't require much magecraft, except for the use of the breast-enhancing charm.
Over the past decade of his life, Shinji had been mulling over his ideas about using magecraft for film production. Now, during this period, he put all those thoughts into practice.
Currently, the entire crew of magus, including Rin and Shirou Emiya, were infusing "gems" with magical energy as per Shinji's instructions.
The term "gems" was put in quotation marks because these gems were nothing more than inexpensive synthetic stones.
"These shoddy things can't even be called gems," Rin complained in a hushed voice. "Each one can barely hold a small amount of magical energy. They're the kind of thing I wouldn't even accept as a gift."
"Nonsense. If they were expensive, I wouldn't bother with them either."
Shinji rolled his eyes and then placed some empty magecraft gems in front of Shirou.
"Give these a little enhancement, if you would."
"Got it."
Shirou shrugged and picked up a red gem, getting to work.
Injecting magical energy into the gems was a straightforward process, so simple that even a magecraft novice like Shirou, after watching Rin's demonstration for five minutes, could easily handle it. At most, he was a bit slower than the others.
"Why do you need so many of these low-quality gems?" Rin looked at a gem and asked Shinji, "These things can only store a small amount of magical energy. They feel inadequate for anything."
Shinji explained directly, "For filming explosions."
The explosion points used for filming were constructed with packed soil. They didn't require excessive force, making these slightly more powerful than firecrackers, well-suited for the purpose.
"These things are cheap, practical, and don't even need a special setup for detonation. As long as a few magus infuse them with magical energy, they can be used without any drawbacks."
Shinji sighed, "It's the perfect fusion of modern technology and ancient magecraft, the pinnacle of practicality. Coming up with this idea proves that I truly am a genius."
"Clearly, you're just repurposing worthless items."
Rin huffed, her nose raised.
Influenced by her father, Tokiomi, Rin held a more traditional view of magecraft. To her, magecraft was sacred, and Shinji's pragmatic behavior was akin to sacrilege.
Shinji shrugged it off; compared to the rigid pursuit of the fundamental principles that traditional magus sought, he valued the practicality of magecraft more.
In his opinion, the aura of mystery surrounding magecraft had faded away. No new magus had emerged in almost a century, and the relentless pursuit of arcane knowledge had become pointless. He preferred a touch of reality.
"Rin, you should know that magecraft is just a tool at the end of the day. You shouldn't hold it in such high regard. It's like a pair of chopsticks you use to eat; its purpose is to help you eat."
Smack
Before Shinji could finish his sentence, his shoulder was slapped.
"I think I heard someone craving Mapo Tofu?"
A middle-aged priest in black clothes grabbed Shinji's shoulder and asked with an intense gaze.
"No one said anything like that!"
Shinji quickly denied, cold sweat breaking out.