Refugee Stories

1

Winter is approaching. The wind blows, carrying freezing air that hits various living things. The leaves on the trees begin to fall. After climbing to the top of the northern mountain, Edward, Margaret, and Wolly walk back to their house without any obstacles. After they arrive at their land area, the refugees are seen setting up tents on some flat land. Horse carts are also seen parked neatly. The horses are eating grass. Some children play happily while others just lie in their tents and rest.

Seeing Edward, Margaret, and Wolly walking home made all the refugees suddenly wake up and stand looking at the three of them. The refugees' faces looked very cheerful compared to when they first met. John, the leader of the refugee group, was accompanied by an old man, Juju, who was seen helping the refugees walk closer to Edward, Margaret, and Wolly.

Currently, in the Central Continent, there is a big war between the Edinburgh Empire and its rebellious regions. The Edinburgh Empire is divided into several kingdoms. The battle culminates when Emperor Henry is killed on the battlefield." John explains what happened to Edward, Margaret, and old man Juju. Meanwhile, Wolly just relaxes and listens to their conversation.

“If I heard correctly, your name is John Edena, right? Edena is the name of the imperial capital, Edinburgh, and also the family name." Margaret asked John a serious question.

“That's right, most of the refugees here are from the Edena family. Once again, I will introduce myself formally because I feel it would be rude if I had to continue hiding my true identity from the person who saved us. My name is Sir John Lancaster O Edina," John answered Margaret's question with a serious look and made a statement that surprised them. Wolly, of course, just kept quiet because she didn't understand anything.

“Why... Did the former Emperor become a refugee?!”

Old man Juju was shocked and fell while sitting.

“Right now, I'm just an ordinary person. I don't have any power," John, who turned out to be the former emperor of the Edinburgh Empire. He felt that currently, he was not an important person. Just an ordinary person like other refugees. He felt lucky because he still had the privilege of being a member of the imperial family.

“Why, when Emperor Henry was killed, were you still here? Shouldn't you be the one holding the throne as emperor?" Margaret continued to ask questions with a serious look while Edward, beside her, listened to the conversation until he waited for his turn to speak. Then Wolly only understood that John was a person who lived on the central continent where Mount Jeevan is located.

“As I said earlier. I have no power at all. I am just lucky enough to become emperor in times of peace. But now the situation is very different. Maybe this is also my fault for causing the Edinburgh Empire to fall apart. My eldest son does not agree if Henry replaces me as Emperor." With a sad look, John continued his story.

"Then, who is currently the Emperor of the Edinburgh Empire?" Edward asked John curiously.

“There is no Emperor in the current Edinburgh Empire. The Queen now rules Edinburgh. Her Majesty the Queen has ordered us to evacuate. Her Majesty ordered that children, women, and the elderly be the highest priority to evacuate. That's why we are on this continent.” John looked cheerful again when he told the story of the Queen of Edinburgh.

“I didn't think that the biggest empire would be like that," Margaret, who seemed to know a lot about the Edinburgh Empire, was also concerned.

“Alright, you are free to stay in my territory until the war ends or longer. On the condition that I don't want to see you guys living in an uncomfortable place. Therefore, I want everyone to build their own houses before winter arrives.” Edward took steps to speak loudly in front of all the refugees.

Edward's refreshing words made the refugees feel happy and safe. They are very grateful to Edward. John, as the leader of the refugee group, will start building several houses, assisted by Edward, Old Man Juju, and several people from Old Man Juju's village. With this, all refugees can live safely and comfortably without having to be exposed to war. Meanwhile, Wolly doesn't do much because of her age.

2

Several weeks have passed. You can see simple houses standing firmly on several areas of Edward's land. The refugees can now live quietly and comfortably in their new homes. Some of them started working to help take care of Edward's fields, plantations, and farms. Some have also started planting various kinds of vegetables that are suitable for planting this fall. Some work as wild animal hunters.

Meanwhile, Wolly trains every day. In the morning, he jogged for an hour and practiced swordsmanship with Edward. During the day, she rests and continues physical training in the afternoon. At night, she goes to bed early and wakes up earlier than other people.

"Hey, come here, no need to hide there." In a slightly annoyed tone, Wolly called a girl who was always peeking at Wolly practicing.

Behind a fairly large tree, a girl was seen hiding. Every day, the girl always saw Wolly practicing behind the tree. Wolly, who felt uncomfortable because she realized this, called the girl. The girl is not alone. A boy was also seen appearing behind the tree. It turns out that these two are the girl and boy that Wolly saw when she first met the group of refugees. They are children who help refugees defend against attacks from groups of wild animals.

“Just so you know, I wasn't peeking... but I just happened to be passing by..." The girl, with her hands holding her waist, felt that she wasn't peeking at Wolly, who was practicing.

Wolly was a little surprised by the girl's behavior. She wondered if kids always acted like that or if that girl was the only one who was like that. It wasn't enough that Wolly was even more surprised by the behavior of the boy who was with the girl.

“Oh, don't be like that, princess. Aren't you the one who always wants to see this little kid practice? The princess should also be more polite towards this little kid. Let me introduce myself, my name is Louis Neville Edina." The boy walking from behind the tree looks very eccentric. With long, light blue hair and a handsome face like Prince from movies, he introduces himself as someone who attracts the center of attention.

“Louis!!... Be proud of yourself, little kid, because you can talk to me directly. I am a princess of the Edinburgh Empire. My name is Mary Lancaster Edina. The girl looked very proud of her status as a princess. But Wolly, who heard that, felt a little annoyed.

“My name is Wolphira Ilizeiros. You can just call me Wolly. I was three years old. As you can see, I'm practicing my sword skills," Wolly answered the introduction briefly and continued her training.

Mary and Louise were a little surprised to see Wolly's attitude as more mature than theirs. Mary is five years old, while Louise is ten years old. Even though their family name is the same, their appearances are very different. Mary has light blonde hair that looks very beautiful, long, and tied in two pigtails. The clothes of the two of them were, of course, not like the clothes of nobles because at this time they were nobody but people who had been affected by the war.

“Hey, don't ignore us." Mary looked annoyed when Wolly ignored them both.

“OK, what do you want?" Wolly suddenly stopped her practice and responded to Mary.

“Ah..---” Mary looked so nervous and embarrassed that it was difficult for her to get a word out of her mouth.

“Don't be a shy princess; you have to say what you want to say." Louise supports Mary.

“We want to come to practice. I saw you were very cool when you attacked groups of wild animals with your parents.” Mary blushed and said her wish to Wolly.

“We ask you to join in the practice. Because we feel very weak. After seeing a little kid like you carry out attacks without hesitation, it honestly makes me very jealous. I hope you will accept us to join in the training," Louise also asked Wolly very politely.

“Okay. But my training is not easy." Wolly accepted them to practice together.

The three of them started practicing together all day long. The exercises carried out are only basic exercises such as running, lifting weights, and swordsmanship. Mary couldn't participate in sword fighting because her skill was not with a sword but with a magician. Seeing Mary silently watching Wolly and Louise practice swords, Margaret offered Wolly to learn magic. Hearing Margaret's offer made Wolly very happy to accept and learn magic. Meanwhile, Edward, who saw Wolly and Louise practicing, also trained them both at the same time.

From that day on, they trained together every day until winter finally arrived.

3

Winter has arrived. The ground surface is covered with not too-thick snow. Farm animals locked themselves in cages. People continue to carry out their activities as usual. For those who can use magic, they warm their bodies using basic fire magic. The advantage of someone being able to use magic is to maintain body condition in any climate, but each person has their level.

For those who cannot use magic, they work indoors or wear very thick clothes when working outdoors. Because Wolly can't use magic, he wears quite thick clothes. Even though the air is quite cold, she still trains every day. Likewise, Mary and Louise always train with Wolly every day.

“What do you know about Mount Jeevan?” Wolly suddenly asked Mary and Louise about Mount Jeevan because they both came from the Central Continent, more precisely from the Edinburgh Empire.

They were both a little surprised to hear Wolly's question. So far, Wolly has only spoken to them a little. Apart from training, she never asked anything.

“To be honest, we didn't know anything about Mount Jeevan. If you want to know about that, you can ask Grandpa John. Looks like he knows a lot about Mount Jeevan.” Louise answered Wolly's question with some confusion.

“Why do you ask about Mount Jeevan? Some people in the palace once said that the mountain was dangerous. The rest I don't know anything about. I only often see that mountain because it looks very close to where we live. The mountain was very high. I can't see the whole thing at all." Mary answered, looking like someone who was thinking very hard. Meanwhile, Wolly's eyes seemed to shine when she heard Mary's answer.

“When I'm fifteen, I'm going to climb Mount Jeevan," Wolly answered with a big smile and a strong confidence that Mary and Louise had never seen in Wolly.

“Hahhhh!?” Mary and Louise were very surprised.

“That's why I always practice every day," Wolly smiled very proudly. Meanwhile, Mary and Louise still don't believe what Wolly said.

The three of them walked together in the cold air to talk to Grandpa John. John's grandfather lived in one of the houses, which was quite simple. He lived with Mary and Louise. Grandpa John can use magic, but only basic magic. He was seen chopping wood outside the house.

The three of them talked to Grandpa John and told Grandpa John everything that happened. Listening to Wolly's wishes about climbing Mount Jeevan made Grandpa John laugh very loudly.

“Ah, sorry, I laughed too loud. Are you serious about climbing Mount Jeevan?" Grandpa John, who had previously been seen laughing very loudly, now asked Wolly a question with a serious look.

“I'm very serious," Wolly answered Grandpa John's question with a very firm, serious look.

“Mount Jeevan is not like other mountains. A very difficult mountain for humans. Because there are many unusual monsters there. A place where races other than humans live. I can tell you more, but wouldn't it be more interesting if you found out for yourself there? " Grandpa John explained briefly about Mount Jeevan and gave Wolly a little challenge.

“Thank you. That's more than enough. After I turn fifteen, I will climb Mount Jeevan and reach the top!" With her small body, Wolly was confident to climb Mount Jeevan and reach the top.

“Reach the top of Mount Jeevan? Hahaha, your goal is very interesting. I like your confidence.” Hearing Wolly's confidence surprised Grandpa John, Mary, and Louise. Grandpa John laughed out loud because he couldn't believe the sentence came out of the mouth of a three-year-old.

After they met and talked to Grandpa John, the three of them ran together to a meadow where the entire surface of the land was currently covered by snow that was not too thick. Wolly lay down on the snow, looking up at the beautiful, clear blue sky.

Wolly looked up at the sky with her palms as if reaching for the sky. In her mind, she felt a little relieved that the truth about Jeevan Mountain was real. But she still has to be patient to make her dream come true. The goals she wants to achieve may be trivial or ridiculous for some people. But for her, it was the reason why she could live until now. Why did she still want to achieve that dream again after death in the previous world? She only has one way of life that she believes in, namely, climbing mountains as her life choice. A life choice that makes her feel very alive and feel many things. Once again in this new world, she remains firm with the path of life she chose.

“Hey, what are you doing?" Mary was right in front of Wolly and looked confused because she had only seen Wolly lying there, staring at the sky.

“Nothing,” Wolly answered Mary's question by changing her position to sitting.

Suddenly, Louise threw a snowball right at Wolly's face. Wolly felt annoyed by throwing a snowball in return, and then they exchanged blows. Louise accidentally throws a snowball at Mar, and she also gets annoyed and throws it back. Louise is seen being heavily attacked by Wolly and Mary. The three of them happily spent time together in the middle of winter.

4

Some time has passed. Now Wolly is four years old. Every day, she never misses practice except when she is sick. Wolly often helps her parents with their work in the fields, gardens, and also the farm. Sometimes Wolly does the work together with Mary and Louise.

The condition of the refugees is getting better. They can enjoy the results of their hard work for a year. The fields and plantations have become wider since the refugees started working in Edward's area. The atmosphere of Edward's area, which previously looked very quiet, now looks like a very comfortable small village. The lives of the refugees are getting more prosperous. They are free to do whatever they like. Of course, Edward, as the owner of the area, applies several rules for the refugees. While Grandpa John acts as the village head. Because Grandpa John is the leader of the refugees. It makes sense if Grandpa John leads them. But Grandpa John always discusses it with Edward and Margaret.

One day, Wolly, Mary, and Louise went on a trip to the hill. The hill where Wolly first saw the peak of the northern Mountain from a distance. She wanted to show something to Mary and Louise. Of course, Mary and Louise looked confused at first because they didn't understand where they were going. But they both agreed because they both felt that Wolly was their little sister. Besides that, Wolly also seemed to have changed her attitude towards them a little.

"Is this enough?" Mary wore clothes that were not too thick. She carried a backpack that was not too big. Inside, it was food. So was Louise's bag.

While Wolly's bag mostly contained light survival tools that she made himself. Such as a small knife, cooking tools, rope, and some potions made by Margaret. At first, Wolly was very surprised when she saw potions for the first time. She had only seen it in a game in her previous life. Some potions have different effects. Basic potions are healing potions, mana potions, and poison cure potions. Potions are usually used for first aid. But other potions have different effects.

Mary holds a magic wand. The wand looks like it is made of wood, but it is very sturdy. Louise holds a sword. His sword looks very elegant, like a sword owned by someone with noble status. While Wolly carries her Zweihander sword. Mary and Louise were very surprised when they first saw Wolly using the Zweihander sword. After they brought all their equipment and weapons, they set off on a trip to the hill.

A few moments later, they were walking into the forest area. The trees tower high and are filled with dense leaves. Small animals wander around playing here and there. But suddenly the atmosphere became a little tense. The small animals started running back to their nests. The birds also flew away. The atmosphere that was previously filled with animal sounds has now become very quiet and calm.

“Hey, we better go back. It seems like this forest is dangerous." Mary could feel something that made her feel like they were surrounded by danger.

“Don't worry, princess. I will always protect you." With her hand holding the sword sheath, Louise was always ready to protect Mary from all dangers.

“It seems like something is wrong here. I often pass this road with my parents, but nothing happens." Wolly felt in her mind that something was wrong. At that time,e Wolly did not expect to make a mistake by traveling to the hill without her parents.

After a while, the situation returned to normal. They continued walking towards the hill. They passed a very wide meadow. Right in front of their eyes, the hill was very clear. The big tree on the hill also still looked very sturdy. After a few hours of walking, they arrived at the hill without any obstacles.

“Woah! The view is very beautiful." Mary was amazed to see the view from the top of the hill, as was Louise. Meanwhile, Wolly was happy to see them enjoying the beautiful view from the top of the hill.

After that, they started cooking and eating together on the hill while enjoying the view. Time had passed until the afternoon, and they had to go home before it got dark. On the way home, the atmosphere suddenly became tense like before.

"Something is approaching!" Mary felt something bad was approaching them.

Immediately with a quick response, Louise was ready to protect Mary while Wolly held her sword in a fighting position.

Two wolves that looked very hungry appeared in their field of vision. The two wolves approached them and surrounded them, ready to prey on the three of them.

“Princess!---" Louise blocked an attack from one of the wolves with his sword.

“Oh God, grant me protection with your power---" A sparkling light appeared as Mary finished the chant. She uses his wand as a medium to use magical powers. She cast protection magic on Louise.

“Oh no, Wolly---" Mary realized that Wolly was also facing a wolf attack, but didn't have time to cast her protective magic on Wolly.

Wolly was seen flying due to the wolf's attack. But she was not injured because she blocked the attack with her sword. Considering her small body was not strong enough to withstand the strong thrust, it was natural.

“Don't think about me. I'm fine!" Wolly shouted to calm Mary, who was panicking while Wolly faced the wolf. She tried to be calmer when facing the wolf.

Wolly's agility meant she easily dodged subsequent attacks. She held her sword with both hands in a position to attack, but she still couldn't find an opening to launch the attack. She ran around continuously avoiding the wolf's attacks while thinking about how to attack it.

At the same time, Mary and Louise were facing other wolves. The two of them worked together to attack the wolf. Louise works as a defender and Mary as a long-range attacker. Mary's magic doesn't have a big impact because some of her magic is centered on light magic, which is predominantly used to support Louise's strength and defense. Louise realized this and tried to find an opening to attack the wolf. Because he had more experience than Wolly, Louise could easily counterattack the wolf.

Wolly found the opportunity to attack the wolf. She launched a full attack on the wolf by swinging her sword with full power. She managed to land the attack and injured the wolf, but not enough to kill the wolf.

The wolf slowly moved a little away from Wolly's reach. The wolf that Louise and Mary were fighting quickly ran towards the wolf that was hit by Wolly's attack. They all thought that the two wolves would attack Wolly at the same time. Therefore, Louise and Mary quickly ran to where Wolly was and helped her.

A strange, dark aura was seen surrounding the two wolves. The two wolves were seen merging into one wolf with a larger size than before. This surprised Wolly, Mary, and Louise. Especially Wolly because it was the first time she saw this happen.

They were silent, not expecting this to happen. Wolly and Louise took their defensive stances while Mary cast defensive magic on Wolly and Louise. The wolf started its attack very quickly with a very strong force towards the three of them.

A cold wind quickly swept through the surroundings, and chunks of ice flew very quickly towards the wolf. The wolf avoided the ice chunks with agility, but several of the ice chunks hit the wolf and caused the wolf to suffer a fatal attack, which made the wolf unable to move swiftly anymore. At the same time, someone with lightning speed attacked the wolf and slashed it with a sword until the wolf was split in two and died instantly.

It turns out that Edward was the one who cut down the wolf very easily. Mary, Louise, and Wolly were relieved, but Wolly realized her mistake by going to the hills without his parents. Edward walked towards the three of them, putting his sword back into its sheath while looking a little angry. Then Margaret approached them after launching an attack with her very fast ice magic. Margaret is worried about the situation of the three of them, but is a little angry with Wolly because she didn't give her the news that she wanted to go to the hills.

“Wolly! At least if you want to go to the hills, you should report to your father and mother first— But I've seen you three fight well! Ha ha ha! You have to practice a lot more if you want to become stronger! Edward was a little angry with Wolly, but looked proud of the three of them fighting against two wolves who were not easy opponents even for adults.

It turned out that Edward and Margaret had been watching them when they fought with the two wolves. But because the two wolves had merged into one, they thought it was not time for Wolly, Mary, and Louise to face it. Because of that, Margaret and Edward quickly attacked and killed the wolf.

After all that, they returned home and returned to training the next day because they realized that the three of them were still very weak. Moreover, Wolly thinks she has to be even stronger if she wants to climb Mount Jeevan because she might face something very strong there.

5

One year later. After two years of refugees living in Edward Land, they are getting better, and their lives are getting better again. One day, several people were seen riding horses and walking towards Edward and Margaret's house. Their clothes looked like warrior clothes, with each of them carrying a sword at their waist. After arriving in front of Edward and Margaret's house, they all got off their horses and greeted them. Because Grandpa John was there, he immediately realized who these people were.

“General? Why are you here?" Grandpa John recognized them and approached them. Then those who saw Grandpa John immediately knelt in front of Grandpa John.

They were soldiers from the Edinburgh Empire. The one who led them on their journey to the southern continent was one of the generals from the Edinburgh Empire, named General Damon Douglas.

“Your Honour! We are here to pick you up because the war is over!" General Damon said firmly and was heard by everyone around him.

General Damon Douglas has a very dashing and large body posture. He had a black beard around his face. With clothes from the Edinburgh Empire, he looked very charismatic in the eyes of those who saw him. Wolly was also amazed at how big his body was compared to the body Wolly had in his previous life.

“Is it true that the war is over? We have to tell the others!" Some of the refugees looked very happy to hear the news and quickly told the news to the other refugees.

“I don't believe this. That's very fast. How could the Queen stop the war in such a short time?" Grandpa John still couldn't believe that the war had ended.

“We generals at first did not trust Her Majesty the Queen. But all that changes when the queen unleashes her true power. We don't even believe that the Edinburgh Empire had such a monster. We are grateful that Her Majesty the Queen succeeded in winning the war. But there was a big problem that happened after that," General Damon told Grandpa John, and many people heard it, including Edward, Margaret, and Old Man Juju.

“What is that?" Grandpa John asked, looking confused.

“After successfully winning the war, Her Majesty the Queen abdicated from her throne and disappeared without a trace." General Damon explained what happened after the war was over.

“Hahaha. I really can't understand that person. Then, does it have anything to do with your presence here? It seems like there is something very important that a general has to come to pick up the refugees." Grandpa John laughed and felt that the queen's behavior was always unpredictable. Then Grandpa John asked General Damon a question.

“We beg you, Your Majesty, to return to the throne as Emperor!" General Damon and the other soldiers knelt to beg Grandpa John.

“Ah- what a bother." Grandpa John looked like he was thinking very hard after hearing that.

“You'd better take a rest first. Since you've all traveled this far. We can talk about something as important as that later," Edward suddenly spoke and suggested that they take a rest first while discussing the matter further.

Grandpa John thanked Edward for calming the tense atmosphere. After that, Edward and Margaret provided a place to rest for the general and his soldiers before they continued their discussion.

After some long discussions, Grandpa John decided to be willing to become Emperor once again. Meanwhile, the refugees in Edward's land were free to return to the Edinburgh Empire or remain in Edward's land. Most of those who returned to the Edinburgh Empire were women and children. While the elderly decided to stay because they could no longer travel far.

Before returning to the Edinburgh Empire, Mary and Louise continued to train with Wolly daily. Although it was only two years, they learned much together in their training. Wolly promised to visit them when Wolly was fifteen years old and started climbing Mount Jeevan. Mary looked sad about their separation while Louise tried to calm Mary down. Wolly was happy because, for the past two years, he had a friend. Then they all left Edward's land and returned to the Edinburgh Empire.