Chapter 279: Kariya: I'll Take Back My Dignity as an Uncle!
"Yo-ho! My dear nephew~ How's this welcome? Fancy enough for ya?"
Under the oversized welcome banner, Kariya Matou stood grinning like a mischievous monkey, clearly proud of the scene he'd orchestrated.
"…Kariya-ojisan. Long time no see," Shinji replied flatly.
While Kariya was all grins and warmth, Shinji was noticeably less enthused. Judging from the over-the-top banner and flashing cameras, there was no doubt in his mind who was behind this whole exaggerated reception. No way he was giving his uncle the satisfaction of a friendly greeting.
Kariya, of course, was completely unfazed. He cheerfully brushed past Shinji and walked straight up to Udagawa Nao, doting on her with full boyfriend energy.
"Nao, that flight must've been tiring, huh? Here, let me help you with your luggage!"
Nao smiled politely. "It's been a while, Kariya. You look… surprisingly energetic."
"Putting on a show, as usual," Shinji muttered under his breath.
If it weren't for all the surrounding reporters and cameras, he might've kicked his uncle in the shin for acting like such a drooling buffoon.
Click. Click
The press, who had been eagerly awaiting Shinji's arrival, were now snapping photos like crazy.
Thanks to Fate and Super 8, Shinji already had a decent reputation in China. Thankfully, security had kept the reporters at a respectful distance, or else Shinji probably wouldn't be keeping his cool so easily.
After checking in with his girlfriend, Kariya finally returned his attention to Shinji and began introducing a pair of local VIPs.
"Shinji, this is Mr. Niu Yuming, Executive Vice Chairman of the film festival committee. And this is Mr. Zhang Liangping, the committee's Secretary-General."
Then he turned to the local hosts: "Gentlemen, this is my nephew, Director Shinji Matou, and this is Miss Udagawa Nao, CEO of Type-Moon Studios."
Shinji couldn't be bothered to wait for a translator. He stepped forward and greeted them directly in Mandarin.
"Nice to meet you both. It's an honor."
His accent was a bit thick—understandable, since he hadn't spoken Chinese in a while—and there was even a slight tongue-twist in his tone. But even so, it shocked the two VIPs enough to raise their eyebrows.
Fortunately, these were men who'd seen their share of strange surprises. They quickly composed themselves and shook hands with Shinji and Nao in turn.
The whole time, Sakura remained quietly in the background.
Though she was technically representing Type-Moon this trip, her status as an actress and her position in the company weren't high enough for her to join in on this kind of high-level meeting. So she simply stood off to the side, observing.
Once the formal introductions were done, Shinji didn't bother sticking around for interviews. He wasn't an actor—he didn't need personal hype. Besides, lingering would only create more trouble for everyone.
With security staff clearing the path, Shinji and his group exited the airport and boarded three separate cars heading into the city.
Since there was a designated driver, Shinji took the rear-right seat—the main guest's spot. Kariya, being second in command, sat on the rear-left. His assistant took the passenger seat up front. Textbook formal seating arrangement.
As the car pulled out, Shinji glanced curiously at the young man in the passenger seat. The guy let out a soft sigh.
"You seem kind of disappointed," Shinji said.
The assistant immediately straightened up. "Ah—n-no! I'm just a little… let down, I guess." He scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Since HQ is here for a movie promo, I was hoping I might get to see some of the film's big stars in person…"
"Oh, you want a movie star?" Shinji pointed casually to Kariya.
"There you go. Enjoy."
"Don't joke like that!" Kariya shot him a glare. "I clearly remember being told not to outshine Nagano Hiroshi!"
Shinji just spread his hands. "What can I say? Hiroshi's got a bigger name than you."
"That's the kind of attitude you show your uncle?!"
Kariya clicked his tongue, clearly offended.
"Ha ha~"
The young assistant let out a good-natured laugh, trying to defuse the tension.
"My name's Li Ri'ang. I'm Director Kariya's intern assistant. I just finished training."
The second half of his sentence seemed vague and unrelated, but Shinji instantly understood—he meant magical training.
After all, Type-Moon was a modern (read: magical) entertainment company, and it was impossible to stay entirely divorced from the supernatural.
To handle the more mystically-inclined business side smoothly, Kariya—under Shinji's orders—had recruited a batch of young talents in China with latent magical potential, people who had never formally come into contact with magecraft before.
Well, magecraft was the Western term. Locally, it was more accurate to call it "fangshu"—arcane arts rooted in ancient traditions.
The recruitment method was simple but clever. Inspired by "Mr. Prettyboy" (a.k.a. Diarmuid) and that time he "stunned people with his looks," Shinji placed a hidden link made of magical runes on an obscure corner of Type-Moon's official website.
Only those with true affinity for magecraft could even see the link. Clicking it led to a hidden job listing.
Sure, some normal people might stumble onto it by accident, but they'd be screened out in interviews. Those without talent either got filtered out or got redirected to mundane positions.
Li Ri'ang was one of the lucky ones. He had no backing in the local magical circles, but his potential was solid. After some basic training, he ended up as Kariya's temporary personal secretary.
Li Ri'ang was extremely happy with the job—not just because he was learning real-life supernatural powers (living every underdog-turned-superhero dream), but also because Type-Moon was a media company… and more importantly, the parent company of Tsuburaya Productions.
He didn't care that there was technically no direct link between the two companies. In his eyes, Shinji owned both, and that was enough.
To a tokusatsu fan like him, Type-Moon was heaven.
"Director Matou! It's such a huge honor to meet you!"
Li Ri'ang pulled out a small autograph board and eagerly held it out.
"Would you please sign this?"
"Of course," Shinji replied with a smile. "Company perks for employees, right?"
He accepted the board and scribbled his name across it in flamboyant, confident strokes.
"Thank you so much!" Li Ri'ang's voice trembled slightly as he carefully tucked the signed board away like it was a sacred relic.
Kariya, watching from the side, couldn't help chiming in with the voice of experience.
"Li Ri'ang, you don't need to butter this guy up so much. He'll just think you're easy to bully, and then he'll wring you dry. Just like me."
"Kariya-ojisan, that's where you've got it wrong," Shinji said, giving him a thumbs up. "You? I'd wring you dry whether you were easy to bully or not!"
"SHINJI, YOU LITTLE—GO DIE!"
Kariya's eyes practically caught fire as he lunged at his nephew, hands outstretched like he wanted to strangle him on the spot.
"Foolish uncle! You think you can match me?!"
Shinji burst out laughing and easily blocked Kariya's "attack" with both arms. The two began roughhousing in the back seat, throwing harmless jabs and playful taunts at each other.
"…Seriously?"
Watching the two grown men wrestle like kids, Li Ri'ang suddenly felt like a third wheel.
'This weird, mutual-roast kind of uncle-nephew bond… feels oddly familiar.'
A chill ran down his spine.
Was this… his future?
Li Ri'ang couldn't help but worry a little. Something told him he might end up just like his boss—completely robbed of dignity by his own future nephew.
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