After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World - Chapter 1699

Chapter 1699: The Adoption Process
While more and more things were brewing everywhere, hot cocoa was brewing in Alterra.

Alterra chocolate was amazing, and with their improved physiques, they didn’t have to worry about trialpha at all.

Samantha sighed in melancholy as she made cup after cup of it.

It was connected to the main fire and designed to keep food and drinks warm if the preparation time took a bit longer than usual.

For example, if so many cups had to be made at a time.

Samantha looked at the several cups and the gentle steam rising from them, carrying cocoa’s unique aroma.

The fragrance comforted her, but also triggered a few memories that squeezed her heart.

When she was young, chocolate was her ultimate luxury—something she and her brother would get probably once a year at most, during New Year’s.

Even if they didn’t have any money, they’d make sure to save up enough to get a packet of hot cocoa, at least, even if they had to do some extra tasks to afford it.

She remembered that, as a child, her best dreams involved chocolates. Sometimes, she was swimming in a pool of chocolate, sometimes she was sleeping in the ground… made of chocolate, and sometimes she was given a house made of it.

“It should be right to pour now,” another one of the orphanage helpers said, pulling her back to reality. It seemed like Samantha paused while she was daydreaming.

After finishing the cups, she turned off the induction heater, so they could cool slightly at the same time. This was so the first cups made wouldn’t be cold, but just warm enough.

In the orphanage, it was imperative to treat each child as equally as possible. Even giving a cold cup to one and a warm cup to another could be a sensitive topic.

This was especially so because the cups actually had a unique customized design. They had a pottery activity a while back where the kids made their own cups with assistance, wherein they added designs and patterns they wanted, which were later submitted to the glazing factory.

They were afraid that some sensitive children would see their own cups with ‘neglected’ and feel sad.

Of course, they were teaching them to be more mentally strong than to be affected by such trifles, but they tried their best as adults to avoid it being an issue at all.

Then, just before serving, she placed marshmallows in. They were all white but of different shapes, and then they added a few colorful sprinkles. Very cute.

The staff lifted the trays, which had a lot of cups each, but balancing them was not a challenge with their new physiques.

Even if it was a challenge, the faces of the children were enough to reenergize them.

“OOAHHH!”

“WAOOOO!” they cheered, each one taking their cups.

“Be careful! Remember to check the temperature!”

The little ones nodded obediently and stared at their chocos, also getting a few extra marshmallows to put in.

Many kids could not help themselves and dipped immediately. If it wasn’t warm, they’d have gulped it down, but sipping slowly was also charming.

“Yum!”

“Can I hav mow mashmawows pwease?”

“Sprinkles! Sprinkles!”

“Dwisush~”

Various little voices and giggles resounded along with the sound of little sips.

Then, the dean came in with a new set of trays; this time, baskets of muffins and cookies appeared!!

The kids gasped, and then chocolate muffins were distributed, and the kids munched on the chocolate muffins with blushes on their faces.

Today was the Orphanage’s anniversary, and they were doing a dual celebration to also welcome their new orphans.

This was especially true for the newcomers, who couldn’t believe they were drinking cocoa, let alone eating muffins!

“I missed this…” some said, while others were speechless, just immersed in the moment of warmth, sweetness, and happiness.

Some children cried. “So good…better than the ones I had eaten in Terran…”

Helena smiled. “We’re glad that everyone likes it! Soon, if you study hard enough, someday you’ll be able to buy them yourself!

“Say thank you to Lady Pepper and Master Meatball for donating the meals you ate and this dessert,” she said, and the children turned to look at the well-behaved babies in their high chairs.

The babies were watching others while munching on some snacks as well, their cheeks puffed up as they chewed. So cute.

“Thank you, Lady Peppa, Mastuh Meaball!!” they said in sync, and the babies, who had heard of their names and seeing the attention on them, giggled adorably.

The two were used and quite loved attention.

The adults laughed and continued to feed the children, showing appreciation that they stayed strong, surviving long enough to find them.

There were now a little over a hundred children who survived in the handful of territories that they had rescued so far.

Alterra wasn’t planning on expanding the Orphanage for now, though, because they hoped the children would be adopted as soon as possible, and this was true because most of the older batch had indeed been adopted, Terran or aborigine alike.

Children were precious in every world, especially so in this one, where the success of conceiving was lower, and the survivability rate of babies—because of the extreme weathers—was quite low on average.

Anyway, this party was quite big. It was set in the open area next to the orphanage, and they set up an alfresco party of sorts.

There were also other kids in attendance there. For example, the already-adopted Pongo and Gururu, as well as other kids like Maya, Horus, Fonfon, and so on, were there.

There were performances like magic tricks, costumes, and even Terran animal (mostly battle pets) shows. The children had a blast, and it quickly integrated the newcomers, who had been shivering in fear just a few days prior.

Somehow, the twins became the guest of honor there and even made a short, cute ‘speech’ in front (they just said baby talk for welcome + some unintelligible babbles).

Many adults also observed from a distance, not part of the event itself, but close enough to see and hear most things. These could be parents of some kids, and those who were prospective adoptive parents.

They smiled and laughed even when they were not near the main events. It was also a way to introduce the children in their natural setting, hopefully allowing the correct adults to adopt them.

Speaking of the adoption process, it was really quite strict. When an adult or a couple had set their eyes on a child, there was a period of adjustment wherein they would visit the child, talk to them, and do simple activities like reading, playing, and gardening with them.

It was not a closely monitored bonding time to minimize scriptedness, but the staff would randomly check on them to see.

This was also to check the children’s compatibility with the adults, and the children could also meet multiple potential parents, so that a couple wouldn’t feel too pressured to adopt when they didn’t feel the chemistry. At the same time, the children wouldn’t be too sad if a particular couple stopped coming.

Humans would be humans after all, and sometimes relationships just didn’t work out.

Helena and they were not idealists. They understood that even if there were good impressions, it might not last, and they shouldn’t bind the parties to each other when they’d just be unhappy.

In this case, the orphanage’s job was to minimize the damage.

After a decision was made, documents and oaths would be made to ensure the parents would take care of the children. The parents would be expected to provide the basic needs, as well as a minimum amount of emotional and psychological guidance, to the children until they reach 18.

After that, they could choose to continue the relationship (as most would), but if not, there would be no legal repercussions for either side.

Random checkups would also happen, with Helena or another staff member checking the children or the parents every few months. This was to ensure that they were still taken care of even after a while, and it would also keep the parents on their toes.

All these processes and controls would also dissuade bad people from adopting children for evil, which was too common in Xeno and in Terran. In other territories, it was common to sell orphans to become ‘induced’ slaves. That was to say, they would sell them to territories to artificially turn them into slaves.

In any case, because people knew the Alterran adoptions were strict and monitored, the ones who would attempt to adopt had at least some sincerity to truly take care of a child.

Finally, the orphanage would also have detailed records of their children, whether or not they had been adopted, and whoever adopted them if they had been.

This way, parents who had lost their children could go here and check the records. They could either connect them directly to the children or to the people who adopted them.

Of course, what comes after—whether the biological parents would gain guardianship—would be on a case-by-case basis. There were parents who saw their children as money-making tools, after all, and some people just didn’t deserve to be parents.

Regardless of what the case was, all adults agreed to one thing: They should take care of the children and raise them to grow to healthy, responsible, and happy adults!