Chapter 2C – Imouto, the Insert Phase

My name is Altina Heinfray, 12 years old. Right now, while using the spell ‘Mind Clarity’ that mama ‘taught’ me, I am being introduced to my new foster family. I said ‘taught’ it was actually more of that I was forcefully given my parents’ knowledge and experience. From birth, I was taught how to expand my mana pool. The training as the only daughter of two of the country’s top arch-mages was grueling, yet due to my innocence I blindly followed my parents’ orders.

At age 7, they performed the magic ritual ‘Mental Heirloom’ which forcibly writes knowledge and memories of the casters into the target’s mind. The ritual is limited to direct descendants and an overwhelming trust between the casters and the target, which were easily fulfilled between me and my parents. Before that point, I only took my parents’ orders for granted; but after receiving my parents’ knowledge and memories, I finally understood it. My parents’ worries, their guilt as parents, their responsibilities to the country, and their love for me… all of them I understood, including why they would forcibly give everything to me. They were worried, nay; they knew perfectly that they could not protect me completely from the looming disaster within the next five years. That night, I spent it with both of them with tears, and an undying bitterness at being unable to help my beloved parents escape their fate.

Then, five years after that, which was four days ago, it happened. That accursed dictator feared that our country would become a threat to his regime. Bullshit, I tell you! Our country was weary from the constant wars that they kept throwing at us. All we ever wanted was for them to leave us alone. Yet! They didn’t hesitate! I will never forget that bastard’s face on that pirated broadcast, boldly condemning us to death like pigs when we never did anything wrong to them!

… My parents secretly made a barrier room strong enough to withstand apocalypse-class disasters. Yet to power that room, mana and life force of two arch-mages were needed. They wasted no time and placed me inside, and unhesitatingly used their own bodies as compensation for the barrier device. Something within me told me to burn their final moments into my eyes and memories, and watched them without blinking.  Thinking back about it, I guess it was my father’s straight forward personality that caused that. And with my mother’s, I simply accepted my fate because I didn’t want their efforts to be wasted. I watched it all, from beginning to end.

With the forced information in my mind, I simply stood there because I also knew that my parents have arranged a rescue party from the Kingdom of Forterra. They used this incident to completely remove my presence from that bastard dictator’s sight. From that day forth, I swore to live my life devoted on vengeance.

Three days ago, the promised rescue party came just as scheduled. A corporate suit wearing uncle with a veteran soldier’s atmosphere found me. The uncle, who found me, according to my parent’s memories, was Sven Eonia; a direct subordinate of Forterra’s Crown Prince, Barfaust Forterra; who was a good friend to my parents. At that moment, I then concluded that I must go to Forterra and bide my time there for my vengeance.

Upon arriving on the royal capital of Forterra, I was handed over to Dr. Haileen Retaina who heads the Rescued Orphans Adoption committee. After a few bouts of introductions and pleasantries, she asked me what I wanted to do, and what kind of family I wanted to be adopted. Curious that I get a choice on who to get adopted by, I asked why.

“I get to choose who adopts me?” I said, tilting my head slightly to the side, staring directly at Dr. Retaina.

“We are here to ensure that kids like you can live comfortable lives until you’re able to become independent. You seem pretty smart, so I’ll get to the point. In the future, we want you to stay as a loyal citizen.” She said while lazily slouching on her office chair. I unintentionally made a face of dissatisfaction on the notion that I wouldn’t be able to leave the country to exact my vengeance.

“Oh, so you desire revenge huh. Don’t be so uptight, there are plenty of paths here that you can take that will allow you to get that revenge. Come on, say what you want clearly.” She said as if reading my mind, and followed up quickly after raising my guard up. I considered what she said, since I had nothing left to lose.

“I want vengeance on Leibon Weilchist, and I want a family that would grant both opportunity and ability to do so!” I said with all my conviction after mustering my courage. Dr. Retaina briefly went silent to think, before a telephone tune rang out from a holo screen beside Dr. Retaina. She gestured at the holo screen and the text ‘Sound only’ was displayed in a gray background.

“Hahaha, I heard that. Interesting!” the voice of an old battle-hardened war veteran’s voice rang out. “Go send the lass to Eonia. Bartfaust will take care of the complicated stuff.” The voice continued.

“Yes, you’re Majesty.” Dr. Retaina said attentively, but she still slouched lazily. I just sat there confused on what was happening.

“Lass, I have expectations from you.” The voice said, and the communication ended. A few seconds of silence later, Dr. Retaina pulled out a few documents from her desk, and handed them to me.

“Fill this up with your information, do it in triplicate. This one is the basic manual for Forterran citizens. That one is the key card to your room for the night. It also functions as your temporary purse. Go visit your room first, and then go buy some clothes in the mall across the street as well as something to eat for lunch and dinner. I’ll pick you up around 7 tomorrow morning to meet your foster family… is what I usually say but you’re a special case. Well, we’ll figure it out tomorrow. If you need anything else, ask the guards after showing the key card. Don’t lose it since it’s troublesome for me.”  She said while shoving me out the door. The door closed as soon as she finished talking.

Surprised and confused with the lack of strictness, I obediently looked for a guard to ask advices on what to do. I remembered that Dr. Retaina placed a lot of emphasis on the key card so I wore it with the necklace strap that came with it. Shortly after walking down the hallway, I found a female guard on patrol. I immediately ran up to her and asked.

“Umm, excuse me… but I need some help.” I said as politely as I could.

“What’s up young lady? Wait, ohh. A new one eh? Welcome to Forterra. If you’re walking alone, then you got assigned to Dr. Retaina huh. The dorms are on the 6th floor, while we’re currently on the 4th floor. Just ask the dorm keeper for more information on the dorms. You can take the elevator as needed. There’s a sky bridge on the 3rd floor that connects to the mall. If you want to explore around, you’ll just have to settle with the sky view at the roof top on the 27th floor. The 9th to 25th floors are restricted areas, so keep that in mind. There should be some portable terminals you can borrow from the dorm keeper, so just ask her for anything else.” The female guard said after seeing the card hanging on my neck.

“Ah, thank you very much.” I said while bowing. The female guard smiled and waved back, then went back to her patrolling. With nothing else to do, I rode the nearest elevator and got off the 6th floor.

There was a reception desk on the edge of the elevator lobby, so I made my way there and inquired. The reception desk was manned by a female receptionist.

“Um, excuse me.” I said as when I reached the reception desk.

“Hmm? Oh, a new immigrant? Welcome to Forterra. Dr. Retaina must be your handler huh. Can I borrow your key card?” the receptionist said. I’m not going anywhere so I obediently gave it to her. She placed the card itself on a device on the desk, while the still attached strap was left on my hand. Hmm, I guess electronic purses are valued highly in Forterra.

“Wait a minute… The room assigned to you is room 8 on the west wing. Do you want to borrow an info terminal?” The receptionist professionally asked. I reply with a nod. She took out a small device that I recognize, and handed both the card and the device to me.

“Just hit the factory reset and leave the terminal in your room when you leave. Have a nice time staying in FRIA.” She said to me. I nodded and followed the directions she said. I can see that all the rooms had an electronic lock. I entered room 8, locked the door, noticed that there wasn’t anyone else in the room, and dived on the bed.  Due to various types of stress and fatigue, I immediately fell asleep.

When I woke up refreshed, it was already late afternoon. Since I had nothing else to do at the moment, I followed the female guard’s advice and went to the mall. I realized, while buying food and a change of clothes that I think I’ll be keeping, that life in Forterra is very convenient, unlike back in what was formerly Contraf. The info terminal lent to me also served as a way to check the balance on the keycard/electronic purse after a kind food stall clerk noticed that I was a foreigner and taught me how to check the balance. The purse only contained enough as a child’s pocket money, or so I think it did.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

My late mother insisted that I wear skirts or dresses and keep my hair waist long, so I bought clothes and other necessities for the night. That’s when it occurred to me, the prices here are at least 1/10th in Contraf! I’m starting to think that their way of giving us pocket money when the prices are this cheap is some sort of propaganda… ok maybe I’m just paranoid. Having knowledge and memories stuffed in your head has some serious side effects, especially for a 12-year-old girl like me.

I went back to my temporary room, ate the take-out dinner I bought, took a bath (Seriously? A bath tub? Is this a hotel?), wore the night clothes I bought (nothing too fancy), read the manual (this manual is very comprehensive) while filling out the documents which seem to be a civil registration form, and browsed the internet (free fast internet… Kuh, I will /try/ not to forget my goal!). I fell asleep deeply until the terminal alarmed at the time I set. I wore the appropriate clothes I bought yesterday and packed everything else I ‘owned’ in a shopping bag. After a few minutes of browsing the internet with the terminal, a knock was heard from the door and Dr. Retaine’s voice could be heard.

“I’m coming in.” Dr. Retaine said as she opened the door. She then informed me that we would be meeting my foster parent shortly. I tensed up but she just patted my head, and led me to an elevator. The elevator went down a few floors down the basement that I couldn’t count exactly. Exiting the elevator, we walked down the hallway, and used another elevator, this time much higher than the floors we came in from.

“Umm, if I guessed correctly, isn’t this place supposed to be… top secret, or something?” I said with curious caution.

“It only means that you’re going to be scouted here when you get to the right age. Your ‘wish’ is like that after all. Also, keep this place a secret from anyone outside your family or anyone unrelated to this place, ok?” Dr. Retaine said with a hint of mysterious understanding.

“This place… will help me get what I want?” I said, now with more curiosity than caution.

“Well, you’ll understand when we arrive there. Look, we’re here” She said back in reply.

The place that revealed itself behind the elevator doors were… astounding. This place looks similar to some kind headquarters for a secret intelligence agency that dad used to watch.  The place is filled with soldier-looking uncles in black corporate suits, mysterious aunties also in black corporate suits, holo-screens and tables displaying varied information, and… is that an extra-terrestrial life form?

Dr. Retaine lead me to a large office, and there sitting on the desk was Forterra’s Crown Prince. Dr. Ratine only briefly lowered her head, then immediately plopped down on the office’s guest sofa. I stayed with my head bowed as I was used to be doing so while royalty passed by on Contraf. The Crown Prince broke into a wry smile and spoke.

“Raise you head and have a seat, Altina Heinfray. No, I guess it will be Altina Eonia later on. Anyways, here in Forterra, a quick bow is enough for greeting royalty. We don’t really like pointless embellishments.” The Crown Prince said.

Dr. Retaine gestured for me to sit beside here, and asked for the documents from yesterday and the key card. She then took out a portable terminal and started typing while looking back and forth between the holo screen and the documents. With nothing else to do, I faced the Crown Prince and spoke as politely as I could.

“… Thank you for fulfilling my parent’s request. I owe my life, as well as my parent’s will, to you.” I said as I slightly lowered my head towards the Crown Prince.

“Ah, well, that’s fine. I think Haileen has already told you, but after you graduate from Forterra Academy, we will be scouting you here in FRIA. For your interesting wish, we just ask you to cooperate with us instead of going solo. Take the condition as compensation for your life, if you must. Don’t worry, we expect that troublesome fellow to wage war on us around the time you finish your training here. Until then, I ask you to live a proper child’s life. I know it will be hard on you after absorbing all that knowledge, memories, and power; but that is also a request both from your parents, and mine who saved your life.” The Crown Prince said in a sympathetic speech tone. Noticing my pondering look, the Crown Prince continued.

“Don’t worry, you won’t be spending your time idling. Here in Forterra, military training starts at 8th grade. Due to your special case, you’ll be skipping grades and will start at 8th grade along with your soon-to-be brother. Oh excuse me; I have a meeting to attend. I’ll be back with your foster father when I return.” The Crown Prince said, and then left out of the door.

Time passed by easily with Dr. Retaine in company. The Crown Prince came back with the uncle who found me in the ruins, Sven Eonia. We were introduced while uncle had a look of being used to unreasonable requests. He called someone on the phone, and then took me to my new home, explaining that luckily my foster mother and brother are at home today. I said that I think it wasn’t a coincidence, and he told me that I would get used to the coincidences. I took the hint that a ‘coincidence’ is a highly used excuse here.

When we arrived at a comfortable-looking house that you would definitely like to retire into, though as we rode the secret trains, and walked around the neighborhood, it’s as if the whole city had the atmosphere where you would definitely love to retire into. We were greeted by who I assume to be my new elder brother, and new elder (?) sister (?). We proceeded to what looks like the living room, and the discussion about me started.

…

“And that’s all.” Uncle Sven concluded the explanation of my situation to my elder brother and sister (?). Elder (?) sister (?) was hugging and patting me while we were seated on the sofa.

“Nee-sama, that tickles…” I said as she increased the rate of rubbing my head. The atmosphere changes dramatically, where elder (?) sister (?) suddenly broke into an elated smile in contrast to her previous partial poker face, elder brother broke into an evil grin that sent shivers down my spine, and uncle who was wearing the ‘no way!’ face.

“Father, pay up.” Sven-niisama said  to uncle.

“Dammit! I was so sure that Altina-chan would mistake Eu-chan as a little sister instead!” uncle shouted in defiance while taking out a card from his wallet.

“Ah, mother. You can stop acting now.” Sven-niisama said to nee-sama(?). Wait, what?

“Acting, not needed. Altina, address me as nee-sama from today onwards.” Nee-sama (?) said while continuing to rub my head. Due to the comedy shock, my psychological guard crumbled to dust.

“Altina, my name is Servo. You can address me whatever you like as long as it isn’t too cute, embarrassing, or disrespectful. Oh and you really should keep addressing father as uncle, and mother as ‘nee-sama’, so you can both open up to us while not forgetting your goal.” Servo-niisama said, now with a wry, but understanding, smile. I could only mutter with “Ah, yes… Eh?” as my thinking got scrambled.

“Look, the side effects are already showing. Using ‘Mind Clarity’ to keep the inserted stuff at bay is correct, but you shouldn’t force it when you’re emotionally unstable. You can already feel that this house is definitely safe for you right? Let it all out, you’ll feel better. After that, let’s get to know each other more, ok?” Servo-niisama said. I felt like a tensioned string loosening after understanding his words. Eu-neesama just kept rubbing my head as if she already knows what was coming next.

Without noticing that Servo-niisama understood that I had inserted knowledge and memories, which even Uncle Sven didn’t have a clue about.

Without noticing that Servo-niisama and Eu-neesama understood that I was maintaining the strongest ‘Mind Clarity’ I could muster.

Without noticing that tears have already started flowing down without me noticing.

With understanding that I was definitely safe with these people…

On that day; I finally understood how a real family is like, and the overflowing tears I kept bottled up inside…

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Author notes:

Spoiler :

Congratulations if you’ve noticed that Altina-chan’s ‘first person’ narration style kept changing throughout the chapter. If you can figure out why, I’ll give you a cookie.

Also, I implied that Crown Prince-san didn't tell Sven about her 'condition', so don't go asking me why. And Crown Prince-san knew the Heinfray couple from the past. I'll insert that into one of Crown Prince-san's monologues as passing in the future.

Yep, I got carried away making the side stories. Don't worry, chapter 3 will be even longer, so I'll chop them up once a part is ready and doesn't need revisions anymore.