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“Lord Heal. You can’t open it?”

“Uh, yeah… It won’t open at all.”

“Should I call the General? Or maybe Mister Mappa…”

“No, I doubt it would make a difference… This must be some kind of special contraption.”

“So…like magic?”

 

I nodded.

 

“Aye. I think it must be ‘Lock,’ which is a magic spell with no attribute. In order to unlock this…I’ll need to use a spell called ‘Pick.’”

 

I put my hand over the treasure chest and unleashed Pick.

 

And then, the treasure chest suddenly opened as if it had never been locked.

 

That’s when something sprang out at us.

 

“Ruff!!”

“…Ahhhh!!”

 

I quickly grabbed the thing that had jumped out at me.

 

It had fluffy white fur and large, teary-eyes… The creature that looked like a white puppy was staring up at me.

 

Its little paws rubbed at my chest and it used its small tongue to lick me.

 

“…kyun…kyun…”

 

It whimpered sadly as it looked up with a pleading expression.

I couldn’t help but pet the puppy’s head.

 

Rienna was so surprised at what had happened, but she quickly regained her calm and muttered.

 

“A pu-puppy?”

“It looks like it…but why was it in a treasure chest?”

 

I looked into the box.

There was a white cloth that the puppy had likely been wrapped up in.

And there was also some uneaten fruit.

 

However, there was nothing else.

 

While I was distracted by the treasure chest, the puppy started crying loudly again.

 

“Ah, sorry! There, there…”

 

I desperately held the puppy to my chest and tried to calm it down.

 

After a while, it became quiet again.

But it was still shaking as if very anxious.

 

Then Rienna said,

 

“Lord Heal. Do you want me to put it to sleep for you?”

“Can you?”

 

And so I handed the puppy to Rienna.

She started to lull it to sleep with practiced skill.

 

“There-there…everything is alright now…”

“…Ruff!”

 

The puppy’s expression became serene and it slowly drifted off to sleep.

 

“Thank you, Rienna… I’ve never held a dog or baby before.”

“If that’s the case, you did a surprisingly good job. However, this one…”

“Ah…”

 

It was a puppy, but not just any puppy.

Considering how many kobold bodies washed up on our shore, this puppy was likely a kobold baby.

 

“…I guess we’ll have to take care of it for a while. But…”

 

All of the goblins that were here were of the Berdan tribe. Kobolds were their enemy.

How would they react upon seeing an enemy baby?

 

“Don’t worry. Regardless of what happened in the past, this child is not to blame. I will explain it to the other goblins.”

“I see… I’ll leave it to you then.”

“Yes, you can count on me! Besides, I’m used to taking care of little ones.”

 

Rienna smiled as she gently rubbed the puppy’s belly.

 

Yes, it was wonderful.

She looked some kind of goddess of mercy.

Or a mother.

 

And like that, the island had a new resident once again.

 

And eventually, this puppy would be the cause of a new guest arriving on the island.

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