"I see. Illya thought that woman was suspicious."
After hearing the whole story, Illya nodded her little head seriously.
Because school had recently started, the little girl had been coming to the film set less often. Although attending classes was basically irrelevant to her, skipping too many would still cause unnecessary trouble.
As Illya's inseparable companion, Sera echoed her mistress, "Indeed, that woman has never focused on this movie. She often daydreams while acting."
"So, what is big brother doing?"
Illya noticed that Nanaya Kiryu had been frantically writing something on a piece of paper since earlier, so she asked him out of curiosity.
Without looking up, Nanaya said, "I'm doing a new budget analysis for the movie… No! No matter how much we cut the budget, it's still not enough assuming we can even finish the movie. Even if we cut some staff salaries, we'll still be short at least three million. But even I can't stand this plan. It'll be a disaster."
Looking at the numbers he had written, Nanaya buried his head in his hands, collapsed onto the table, and began to mutter weakly.
Nanaya's words made Ikeda Subaru stiffen. "Wait Kiryu-san. When you say partial employee compensation, you don't mean us, do you?"
"Well… let's all tighten our belts and get through this period."
Nanaya glanced sideways, practically confirming it.
"You can't do this! I have elderly parents to support, kids to raise, and a wife to take care of!" Ikeda Subaru cried. He grabbed Nanaya's arm in desperation.
"So I'm giving up. Stop yelling."
Even Nanaya felt he had gone too far, so he tore the budget sheet into pieces.
"So, there really is only one last resort…" Nanaya turned toward Ori and Subaru. "If we use the two of you as collateral to borrow money from that 'kind person'…"
"Senior! Don't joke about that! You'll get your hand chopped off!"
"That's true…" Nanaya slumped back into his chair. "So it really is all over…"
Illya pouted, as if she had thought of something, then whispered a few words into Sera's ear.
"Hey, Sera. Isn't this okay…?"
"Why?"
Hearing Illya's suggestion, Sera's eyes widened. She looked at the little lady, unsure what to say. As someone who had performed as a stand-in in this film, she sincerely wanted to help Nanaya finish it. But as Illya's maid, she couldn't bear to let her young lady throw money into a bottomless pit.
Filmmaking was high-investment, high-return, and high-risk. Hundreds of films were produced worldwide each year, but only a fraction became profitable. Too many uncertainties decided the fate of a film. Every film was essentially a lottery ticket some just looked slightly more promising.
Would the movie Kara no Kyoukai succeed?
To be honest, it was difficult.
Though Sera wasn't a professional, serving a film tycoon had given her some understanding.
Kara no Kyoukai's content was reasonably interesting but the budget was painfully low. Worst of all, it was a television film with almost no promotional channels.
Under those conditions, reaching the creators' 10% viewership target was practically impossible. The only hope for recouping the investment was to generate positive word-of-mouth from the initial TV broadcast, then entice viewers to buy videotapes and DVDs.
But how long would that take?
Even The Shawshank Redemption had taken years to recover costs through DVD and TV broadcasts. Though Kara no Kyoukai had a far smaller budget, its low visibility made recouping offline extremely difficult.
"Sera, this way."
Illya noticed her hesitation and pulled her aside.
"Does Sera think I shouldn't invest in big brother's movie?"
"Young lady, as your maid, I strongly advise you not to throw your savings into this bottomless pit." Sera turned her head away so she wouldn't be worn down by Illya's bright eyes.
Illya's priorities were completely different from Sera's. She clapped her hands happily. "So, Sera also wants big brother to finish the movie! As expected of a true big brother he even moved Sera!"
"Moved?! Absolutely not! Miss, stop saying strange things! Kiryu Nanaya and I have nothing to do with each other!"
Flustered, Sera slipped mid-sentence and fell into another customer's seat.
"Oh ho~"
Illya covered her tiny mouth with exaggerated surprise.
"Miss… I'll prove my innocence right now!"
Before Sera could apologize to the customers, she rushed at Nanaya, grabbed his collar, and threw him over her shoulder.
"Wha—?!"
Nanaya felt the world spin. When he realized where he was, he was already upside down on the ground.
"What are you doing?!"
Dazed and hanging head-down, Nanaya stared angrily at Sera, unaware of what offense he had committed.
"Hey, hey. Big brother."
Illya marched over, one hand on her hip, towering over the toppled director.
Nanaya looked up—
—and saw only two slender white calves.
(Wrong angle…)
staaare.
Feeling Sera's murderous gaze, Nanaya instantly froze. He snapped into a listening posture, and though he looked ridiculous upside-down, no one commented.
Illya wagged her finger. "Big brother, you're so useless! You get discouraged over one setback. Look, even Sister Sera, who cares about you, couldn't stand it anymore!"
"W-Wait! Young lady! Why does this involve me?!"
Illya blinked innocently. "Huh? Didn't you throw big brother because you couldn't stand seeing him like that?"
"U-Ugh…"
Realizing that everyone was now staring, Sera blushed and backed away. Only then did she notice she'd walked right into Illya's trap.
Nanaya got up and said solemnly, "I'm sorry, Illya. I really did lose my composure."
Illya nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Big brother is energetic again! Now Illya has a present for big brother!"
She pulled a small passbook from her chest and handed it to him.
"A bankbook? This… one, two, three…that many zeros?!"
Nanaya nearly fainted when he saw the amount almost ten million yen. Only now did he truly understand what a rich young lady was.
Judging by the deposit dates, this passbook seemed to hold her accumulated pocket money.
(The gap is insane… I only got a few hundred as a kid…)
Illya puffed her chest proudly. "This money is mine! With this, big brother's movie is saved! Illya has learned a lot watching big brother's film set, so this is Illya's way of giving back!"
(Giving back?! This is enough to remake the entire film!)
Nanaya hesitated, he didn't think their relationship warranted such generosity.
Illya spoke first. "Big brother doesn't need to refuse. Think of it as an investment. Big brother must promise that if this movie succeeds, he'll make a film starring Illya in the future!"
Seeing the determination in her eyes, Nanaya finally nodded. "Okay. I understand."
Then he added, "But I only need five million. Anything more would be meaningless."
Nanaya was touched by Illya's willingness to help; that was exactly why he didn't want to betray her trust.
Even with more time and money, he couldn't remake the movie. His remaining tasks were to finish the missing scenes and replace the previous actress's face with the new female lead.
Based on his calculations, the remaining work would cost about five million yen. The new actress didn't require a high salary either. Asking for more would be greedy.
Illya originally wanted to say she could give more, but after seeing Nanaya's resolve, she held back.
"Ori!"
Nanaya grabbed Ori's hands. "There's something very important I need you to do. You're the only one I can rely on right now!"
"P-Please speak…"
His eyelids twitched wildly, warning him that this was definitely a terrible request but he listened anyway.
Nanaya leaned in and begged in an overly sweet tone, "Ori, for my sake, for everyone's sake, and for the sake of this movie… please play the role of Ryogi Shiki!"
Ori immediately shouted
"No way—!!"
PS.The Shawshank Redemption initially flopped in theaters, making only about $16 million against a $25 million budget in 1994, but became a massive success through home video, cable TV, and re-releases, eventually grossing over $73 million worldwide and earning substantial residual income for its cast and studio, solidifying its status as a beloved classic.