NOVEL NEXT Chapter 139: Chapter 141: Shinji: Doesn't this make me look super weak?!
Tohko Aozaki blinked a bit confused as he looked at his own living room.
It wasn't until he saw the battle between Lancer and Archer on the TV screen that he remembered what he was doing before he fell asleep.
"Hmph, Aoko, this is your fault. Why didn't you do anything?"
Even though he realized he was making a big deal out of nothing and had even embarrassed himself in front of his granddaughter, Tohko Aozaki was not the kind of person to admit his mistakes. It was always others who had to apologize to him, never the other way around.
"Grandpa..."
Aoko's eyelid twitched slightly.
'What could I have done? If I woke you up, you'd scold me for disturbing your sleep; if I covered you with a blanket, you'd complain about why I didn't carry you to bed; and I couldn't turn off the TV either, you'd probably scold me for not waking you up to keep watching…'
Aoko knew all too well that arguing with her stubborn grandpa would lead nowhere. If she pushed back, he'd only get more fired up and start a full-blown argument with her.
To Aoko, her grandpa was the most frustrating, difficult-to-communicate-with old man in the world.
If he wasn't her grandfather, she would have already smacked him in the face with a magical bullet.
Unfortunately, she couldn't do that. So, she simply chose to ignore him.
As expected, Tohko Aozaki reacted just as Aoko had predicted.
Seeing that his granddaughter didn't argue back, he obediently shut his mouth.
'Hmph, as expected of Aoko. Always reflecting on her own mistakes, unlike that ungrateful granddaughter of mine who only makes excuses for herself.'
'As I thought, I made the right choice. Aoko should be the one to inherit the family legacy.'
Feeling smug, Tohko Aozaki leaned back on the sofa and shifted his attention back to Heaven's Feel (HF).
The battle between Lancer and Archer didn't last long. After all, this was already their third fight. Even Cú Chulainn and EMIYA had no idea what else they could do at this point.
That said, unlike the movie version which skipped over the fight, Shinji at least provided a clear explanation of the background and consequences of the scene.
Before he crossed over into this world, the Type-Moon anime adaptations Shinji watched had two major flaws.
Either they deviated wildly from the original work, or they were too obscure, making it impossible for anyone unfamiliar with the lore to understand.
The former resulted in terrible adaptations that only hardcore fans would watch, while the latter left casual viewers confused, with only diehard fans grasping the plot.
As a result, Type-Moon's anime works became something only diehard Tsukihime fans (moon lovers) discussed.
Typically, adapting a game or novel into an anime should be a great opportunity to expand the fanbase. But Type-Moon's anime productions failed to capitalize on that, relying solely on their existing fanbase.
Luckily, Type-Moon had a huge following and with FGO (Fate/Grand Order) as a cash cow, the company wouldn't go bankrupt anytime soon.
But going any further? That was a different story.
Considering that Nasu Kinoko (the writer) was only aiming for survival, he probably didn't have grand ambitions for the future.
Shinji, however, had much bigger ambitions.
He had much higher expectations for the Fate/stay night adaptations.
Even though HF was being released through OVA and premium channels, Shinji still hoped it would attract new audiences—particularly those who preferred more mature content.
After all, aside from Fate fans, the only people who would watch HF through these channels would probably be some rather... peculiar individuals.
Who in their right mind watches HBO, anyway?!
For these new viewers, Shinji included detailed explanations of the setting.
While he didn't go too deep into lore, at least it was enough for newcomers to grasp the basics.
Even Tohko Aozaki, whose brain was nearly fossilized, had no trouble understanding it.
Of course, it was also possible that being a magus himself, Tohko Aozaki was already familiar with many magical theories, so there wasn't that much new information for him to take in.
At the very least, while following the plot, the old man still found time to critique the Matou family's worm pit.
"Wow, the Matou family can still sustain that many Crest Worms? He must've emptied his family's entire stash for this film, huh?"
Tohko Aozaki had the typical mindset of an old-school magi.
He didn't care if something was morally wrong. As long as it led to the Root, it was good.
"They might not all be Crest Worms..."
Aoko shuddered slightly, goosebumps forming on her arms—the sight of too many worms made her uncomfortable.
She hesitated before offering an explanation.
"I've heard that movies and TV shows use a lot of props. These Crest Worms might just be fake ones."
Tohko Aozaki turned to look at his granddaughter. "Aoko, do you know a lot about movies?"
Aoko's heart skipped a beat. She tried to stay calm as she replied, "Not... really. This is just common knowledge among young people. Anyone would know about it."
"Is that so?"
Tohko Aozaki didn't doubt his granddaughter's words, but he still reminded her, "Aoko, don't waste your energy on trivial matters like these. You're the heir of the Aozaki family. You need to focus more on the path of magic."
"I... understand."
Aoko obediently nodded and then secretly took out her phone to send a message in a group chat.
Redhead Aoko: "Are you guys watching HF? How do you feel about it? ( ? ? ? )"
Aoko cunningly avoided mentioning that she had already watched ahead, planning to wait until Alice and the others shared their thoughts, so she could one-up them by revealing she had seen it earlier.
However, her plan backfired. By the time she sent her message, Alice and the others had already started watching HF and were too engrossed in the movie to notice Aoko's message.
Time passed while they were distracted by the "pure love" between Shirou Emiya and Sakura Matou, and no one replied to Aoko, thinking she had already gone to bed.
After all, with everyone watching together in the same room, why text when you could just talk?
They figured responding to Aoko's message could wait until tomorrow.
Thus, Aoko found herself waiting in vain.
Even her friend Alice paid no mind to Aoko's feelings, as they were all shocked by the sheer number of bugs on screen.
Sure, bugs are a common horror trope, but the sheer quantity on display had startled everyone.
Due to censorship issues, the Shinji version of Fate/Zero didn't include the scene where young Sakura was disciplined, meaning the worm pit wasn't shown in detail in FZ.
When HF finally showcased the Matou family's insect-filled pit, the sight of all those swarming bugs took everyone by surprise.
"This scene is terrifying!"
One young female magus instinctively covered her eyes, her soft voice matching her delicate appearance.
Shibamatsu, however, who knew her true nature, scoffed internally.
'Are you putting on a show for some guy? Who doesn't know your family magecraft is based on bloodsucking plants? Scenes like this are nothing new to you.'
Shibamatsu muttered in his mind.
'Especially since you're covering your eyes but peeking through your fingers. Who are you trying to fool?!'
Shibamatsu knew that many girls had a paradoxical reaction to horror movies: too scared to look, but too curious to turn away. But he was sure that such behavior wouldn't apply to young magus like them.
That said, even Shibamatsu couldn't claim to be totally unfazed.
At the sight of so many bugs crawling across the screen, he couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine.
This wasn't about fear or trypophobia, just a physiological reaction to something unsettling.
"I didn't expect Matou Shinji to have such talent for making horror movies."
Shibamatsu was genuinely surprised by the shift from a sweet love story at the beginning to a horror flick as soon as the Holy Grail War started.
"Just this scene filled with bugs alone makes the R-rating well-deserved."
He turned to Alice, whose eyes were sparkling with excitement, and asked curiously, "Kuonji-san, what do you think?"
"Using Crest Worms to modify magic circuits—that part I already knew from Fate/Zero. But I didn't expect magus could also use them to extend their lifespan. Is that really possible?"
"Sorry... I don't know..."
Seeing Alice go into scholar mode, Shibamatsu quickly retreated.
While ordinary viewers were watching for excitement and magi like Alice were watching for academic insights, there were a few others enjoying HF for a very different reason.
During the romantic parts that bored everyone else, they were busy making sarcastic comments. During the intense battles between Archer and Lancer, they found it dull. And even during the creepy bug scenes, they remained unphased—one girl even ate two more rice balls.
But when Matou Shinji and Rider were effortlessly defeated by Saber, they finally found their source of amusement.
"Doesn't this make me look super weak?!"
On screen, Matou Shinji was screaming hysterically at Shirou Emiya.
"Hahaha!"
In the Matou residence, several girls clapped and laughed as they watched Shinji's outburst.
"This is it! I've been waiting for this!"
Arturia's eyes lit up, and she stopped eating snacks, her gaze glued to the screen.
"I knew this scene would be hilarious when we were filming it, and the final cut didn't disappoint."
Medusa pushed up her glasses with a satisfied smile.
Meanwhile, Sakura let out a long sigh. "What a shame... We can't see Onii-sama make that face in real life anymore. Even if I played a cruel trick on him now, he wouldn't get this angry."
"He's a director and company president now. He has to maintain his authority in front of the staff."
Sakura pouted. "But that expression suits him so well! Especially the way he stomps his foot. No matter how many times I see it, I never get tired of it."
Arturia nodded. "I totally understand, Sakura. It's that contrast between his usual confidence and his frustration when he fails. That's what makes it so adorable."
A drop of cold sweat formed on Sakura's temple. "Miss Arturia... I feel like we're on a different channel here."
"What a pity it was only for such a brief moment."
As the camera switched to Shirou and Mitsuzuri heading to the church, and Shinji was out of the plot for the time being, Arturia sighed with regret.
Medusa tilted her head. "But isn't this the DVD? You can just rewind it, right?"
Snap
Arturia snapped her fingers. "That's right! Great thinking, Rider!"
Sakura was even quicker, grabbing the remote off the coffee table and pressing rewind.
"Doesn't this make me look super weak?!"
"Doesn't this make me look super weak?!"
"Doesn't this—"
Under Sakura's control, Shinji's line played over and over on the screen, like a broken record.
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