Chapter 261: Shinji: Spy Among Spies Can't Survive Without Brush-bro, Just Like...
As night fell and the city lights came on, more and more people gathered in downtown Fuyuki City for the premiere of Spy Among Spies.
After hosting several grand premieres, the world had gotten used to Shinji Matou throwing extravagant events in his small hometown.
In fact, many media outlets and fans would now arrive in Fuyuki days in advance just to participate.
Major TV stations even sent out broadcast vans, setting up cameras and massive lenses on either side of the red carpet, eagerly waiting for the celebrities to arrive.
The Fuyuki City Police Department had also deployed extra personnel around the area, officers watching the crowd nervously, doing their best to maintain order.
"This is such a damn hassle," a young officer in his early twenties muttered to his more experienced senior.
"That guy, Shinji Matou, always loves stirring up trouble for us."
The crowd gathered around the Type-Moon Cinema was enormous, spreading out from the red carpet like ripples on water.
Even at a rough glance, there were easily over a thousand people.
Just the sheer number of people was already putting an enormous strain on Fuyuki's small police force.
"There are more and more people..." the young officer grumbled, "I hope nothing goes wrong."
The senior officer, however, was a lot more seasoned.
He remained calm and said,
"It should be fine. They're all here for the movie premiere. As long as we keep the situation under control when the celebrities show up, we'll be okay."
The younger cop deadpanned:
"Uncle, I really doubt those fangirls will behave when they see Diarmuid."
His own mother was a die-hard Diarmuid fan.
Before he left for work today, she even begged him to get Diarmuid's autograph.
"With this many people, how the hell am I supposed to even get close..." the young officer sighed inwardly.
He was stationed on the outer perimeter of the crowd — trying to fight his way to the front for an autograph was nothing but a pipe dream.
"A guy getting this much love from women... How unfair."
He watched all the fangirls crammed against the front lines, feeling a surge of pure jealousy.
The old officer chuckled, "I saw the trailer for Spy Among Spies. Looked pretty awesome. If I weren't working today, I'd definitely go see the movie myself."
As the two of them idly chatted, a thunderous wave of screams suddenly erupted from the crowd.
The two officers tensed up immediately, preparing to rush in — but then realized it wasn't a panic or a riot.
The fans were just screaming with excitement, cheering wildly for a certain curly-haired man walking down the red carpet.
"Tch tch, that pretty boy's not bad looking at all," the old cop clicked his tongue in amazement.
Even from a distance, he could feel how outstanding Diarmuid's appearance was.
"Seems like... he actually looks better in person than on TV?" the senior officer muttered in surprise.
Usually, stars looked better on-screen thanks to all the editing and filters — in real life, many of them were pretty average.
But this Diarmuid guy seemed to be the opposite.
What he didn't know was that it was actually the effect of magical enhancements.
The old officer simply assumed that Diarmuid's looks were somehow downgraded by the cameras.
The young police officer felt it even more deeply. Staring at the radiant Diarmuid, he couldn't help but murmur,
"Now I finally get why my mom likes him so much."
Meanwhile, in the crowd, Diarmuid — completely unaware that he had just won over yet another male fan — was busy waving to the cheering audience while giving an interview to NHK TV.
"I'm honored to be the lead actor in this film," Diarmuid said warmly.
"Actually, even before the audition, producer Shinji Matou called me and asked me to watch some spy movies to get a feel for the role."
"On the phone, Ma— he told me outright that I had to play Ethan, because this character was basically me."
"I'm grateful he gave me this opportunity. He truly is the one who discovered me."
Over on the other side, Shinji, being interviewed by TBS, seemed to have a psychic link with his Servant — throwing a compliment back at Diarmuid without missing a beat.
"We've made an excellent spy film — full of suspense, tension, and a fresh take on the genre," Shinji said confidently.
"Choosing Diarmuid as the lead was definitely a challenge, given that his only prior film experience was Fate/Zero."
"But in the end, he proved to be the perfect choice, portraying a new kind of charming secret agent. I can't wait to work with him again on our next project."
Of course, both of them were just saying what needed to be said on camera.
They each knew the reality behind the scenes.
But hey — this was the entertainment industry.
What was said in public and what happened behind the scenes were two completely different things.
Diarmuid, by nature, wasn't the type to boast about himself.
Adhering to his knightly code, he was usually extremely modest.
The only reason he was now able to speak so eloquently was thanks to the training he had received from the Johnny & Associates staff.
And it was this discovery that made Shinji realize — "Maybe Johnny & Associates isn't completely useless after all..."
"Maybe Diarmuid could really pull off being a male idol someday..."
At this very moment, Diarmuid — blissfully unaware that his devious Master was scheming new plans for him — continued promoting himself and the movie in front of the cameras.
"This shoot had similarities to my role as a knight in Fate/Zero, but also many differences. Ethan is a spy — a principled spy. Aside from using modern gadgets, he's more like a knight walking through the modern world."
"In order to make my performance more convincing, I went through rigorous training before filming started, so I could balance the classical elegance of a knight with the sharp, efficient skills of a modern agent."
While Diarmuid still held back a little out of modesty, Shinji had no such restraints — he was pushing the marketing machine into overdrive.
He didn't mention any of his other projects — Fate/Apocrypha, Magical Illya, or even Seven X.
Instead, he focused all his energy on promoting Spy Among Spies and Diarmuid, barely going three sentences without bringing them up.
"From the start, I believed that casting Diarmuid as Ethan was the best choice. No one else could do it!"
"Everyone remembers his amazing performance in Fate/Zero — Diarmuid embodies the radiance of a knight's virtue."
"Having him portray a dark-background, all-powerful secret agent brings a completely new and dazzling light to the character."
"Spy Among Spies can't survive without Diarmuid — Just like the 3D section of the internet can't survive without Tifa— cough, I mean, just like Fate can't survive without Arturia."
Shinji might not enjoy showing off in front of the media, but when it was time to roll up his sleeves and get down to business, he absolutely wasn't shy about it.
Besides pushing his male lead, Shinji made sure to hype up the strengths of the movie itself too.
While Spy Among Spies's main draw was undoubtedly its leading man, Diarmuid, its unique take on the spy genre — a departure from old-school spy flicks — was another major selling point.
And of course, Shinji wasn't going to let that go unmentioned.
"To create a tense, exhilarating atmosphere," Shinji explained to the reporter, "all the action scenes in this film use rapid editing to highlight Ethan's sense of speed!"
"Thanks to Diarmuid's incredible physical abilities, we were able to film everything in the most realistic way possible. Aside from a few necessary moments, over 90% of the stunts in this movie were performed live, giving the audience a truly authentic spy-world experience."
Naturally, Shinji also knew when to ride a trending topic.
"Spy Among Spies will be completely different from the 007 series. Sure, we'll feature some cool spy gadgets, but unlike the over-the-top fantasy of James Bond, our Ethan is real and believable."
In this world, the 007 series, despite having quite a few installments, was still stuck in that old-school, exaggerated style.
If it weren't for the slow development of commercial films here and the general lack of alternatives, the Bond franchise would've crashed and burned long ago.
For Type-Moon Pictures, Spy Among Spies was one of Shinji Matou's biggest investments outside of the films he directed personally — both in terms of money and resources.
The success or failure of this project would have a huge impact on Type-Moon's future:
Would they end up like DreamWorks, relying on a single man to keep the company afloat?
Or would they rise like Disney or Netflix, becoming an empire within the film industry?
The success of Spy Among Spies was absolutely critical.
To maximize its chances, Shinji made the movie's premiere even more grandiose than Super 8's.
And mind you, Super 8's premiere didn't attract nearly as many fans to Fuyuki City as Spy Among Spies had.
Of course, this was also thanks to Diarmuid's overwhelming appeal — a true lady-killer.
Which is why Shinji left Diarmuid on the red carpet, still basking in the love and interviews, while he himself slipped into the Type-Moon Cinema.
And there, right at the entrance, he ran into Cloris.
"Why so serious? Something got you upset?" Cloris asked, not used to seeing Shinji's usual playful smirk replaced with a grim expression.
In her memory, her beloved always wore a devil-may-care smile.
Shinji waved her into the theater, his face relaxing a bit.
"I'm just a little nervous," he said while rubbing his face.
"This is the first film I've funded but didn't direct myself."
Cloris couldn't help but laugh.
"Now you know how I feel every time I sit helplessly by the side, watching you prepare with the movie?"
Wait a minute…
Why did that sound so wrong?
Were the movies she was referring to the public one or the bedroom one?
Shinji frowned slightly but quickly shook his head.
"It's something I'll have to get used to. I can't direct every movie myself."
Cloris pointed at him teasingly.
"Isn't this the behind-the-scenes puppet master role you've always dreamed of, Young Master Shinji?"
Shinji took her arm and led her toward the IMAX theater.
As they walked, he said, "How could you call a producer a 'puppet master'? I'm not pulling strings — I'm pushing things forward!"
He then launched into a string of hard-to-follow ramblings — about "controlling the bigger picture," "bringing magic into the Four Modernizations," "promoting heroic spirit actors," and so on.
"Keep telling yourself that~ Hahaha~"
Cloris's silvery laughter echoed down the corridor as Shinji continued babbling away beside her.
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