Chapter 2

Three whole months have gone since the day I have become the Matou Sinji. In the time frame that passed nothing unexpected happened besides me learning that Shinji's life was even worse than imagined. His father did not give a shit about him and spend most of his time drunk. His mother died when he was born. Well at least that is an official version, but I have seen quite a lot of signs pointing out that she was killed and used for experiments after failing to give birth to a proper heir. Zouken did not even try to hide it well. Why they did not try to make a new one? Simple they used magic to increase the chances of the magically gifted child being born that made both parents infertile. The full procedure was written in one of the notebooks just lying around in Zouken's workplace.

???: Shinji you are still wasting your time here?

Shinji: Good evening grandpa. And I am learning magicraft. Matou is a magus family after all. "As you may have guessed I am currently in Zouken's workplace-library trying to learn magic. Even if I know that it is a hopeless endeavor, but I just can't resist it. The has to be some way through magicraft or science. Thanks to my perfect memory I remember every textbook and paper that I ever read, and any open-access library in Fuyuki has limited collection compared to what is currently in my head and with the internet not being a thing I have already memorized everything that they had. Now I am working on the magical side. I can't let Zouken to learn about my extraordinary memory so I am deliberately slowing down my pace"

Zouken: When will you learn that your case is hopeless. I tried everything I could do. You are unable to use any form of magic. However, considering that you spend more time studying magicraft than any of my idiotic sons. So as a reward I will let you further continue your indulgences. After all, any life has its uses, and even an insignificant worm like you may be useful, and maybe knowledge will make it more useful.

And with those words, my first official magic lesson started.

----2 months later-----

Zouken: And that is how you can through the engraving of Slavic runes on the flesh of target change its characteristics and traits. And now let's go. I have something to show you.

Shinji: "Woosh, no matter how much time passes Zouken remains equally scary. However, I have to admit he is a great teacher. His centuries of experience do really show up. He tells about ways of using any spell, rune, or potion in such ways that I could not even think of. Now, Sinji stop right there Zouken is going to show something that is not time to doze off thinking about magic. So far, we were moving toward the entrance of the mansion. And then I saw them A middle-aged men in the red coat with a wooden cane with the refined and expensive blue jewel on the top and little girl with purple hair holding a travel bag. I momentarily understood what is happening when Byakuya came from the next room."

Zouken : Nice to meet you Tohsaka Tokiomi.

Tokiomi: Good evening Zouken. I presume that cutting out all unnecessary pleasantries will be beneficial for both of us. I have already prepared a Geis Scroll.

Zouken: Perfect. I presume that is my new granddaughter.

Tokiomi: Yes, Sakura introduce your-self.

Sakura: Y-yes. My name Sakura from now on I will be in your care.!

While saying that it was clearly seen that she was barely holding up from starting crying.

Zouken: Good. Shinji go help you, new sister, to settle down. Her room is located next to yours.

Shinji: Yes, grandfather.

Tokiomi: So that is the reason why you were forced to search for a new heir. How tragic a great family like Matou are now almost extinct and unable to produce heir.

Zouken: Yes, really tragic. But now thanks to Sakura-chan we will be able to produce a brilliant magus this generation.

And under such veiled insults, I was forced to leave. No wonder, Sinji grows up with such huge inferiority complex, Zouken literary uses any opportunity to remind him that he is useless.

Approximately 20 minutes later we with Sakura finished to unpack her luggage and I noticed that was sitting on her new bed blankly starring to the wall.

Shinji: Sakura-chan. Are you sad? "Sinji idiot obliviously she is sad. She is a small girl and she was forced to leave her family behind."

Sakura: What? Now, it is a great honor to join great magus family such as Matou!

Shinji: Don't pretend. I can see that you are sad. You left your mother and sister behind and were forced to live with people that you don't even know. But you know what? You have a new family now. And I am your new older brother now. And you know uncle Kariya? He is your mother's friend.

Sakura: Uncle Kariya?

Shinji: Yes, he is my uncle, and now he is yours too. We with uncle Kariya will take care of you. So, don't be sad okay?

Sakura: Okay.

And even though she wanted to cry she stopped herself and genuinely smiled with relief. That was the last time in a long while when I saw her smiling. Because starting from next night she was regularly forced into a room full of various worms modified with magic that slowly crawled into her body. According to Zouken, that procedure should help her magical potential to develop. And I did nothing to stop it because I was too scared and I knew that the moment I enter that room the worms will just eat me alive because I don't have any magical potential to speak of.