Chapter 12

Stepping into the central chamber, they saw Philomena and Yuna tapping and pushing on every wall.

"Haven't found it yet?"

Shaking their heads, they sighed.

"If there's a secret wall here, we can't find it."

Slumping agaisnt the wall, Yuna's wings drooped sadly while Philomena crossed her arms with a pout.

"Maybe instead of just hitting the walls we should be looking for something else. Like a torch or a rock that looks out of place. Like a hidden mechanism."

Hearing the idea, their enthusiasm reappeared and they perked up, scanning the room with renewed vigor

Looking at the cows when they mooed, he crossed his arms, waiting for Yozora to translate.

"When they passed by, they say that the hidden tunnel was right there next to the two stalagmites."

Walking over, he touched the identified wall. Running his hand over it and finding that unlike normal cave walls, it was smooth and curved outward.

Pushing in on it, it refused to move but when he nudged it to the side, he felt it move ever so slightly.

"I think I found it."

Yuna and Philomena quickly ran over with Yozora walking over with the cows.

"What is it? How do we open it!?!"

Philomena asked, bouncing on her toes.

"I think this is a big smooth boulder. If we can move it we should find the tunnel."

Clapping her hands, Yuna proudly stepped forward with overflowing confidence.

"I'll handle this. I'm a Dragonkin after all."

Grabbing the boulder with her claws, she grit her teeth and grunted as she pulled.

Watching as she failed to move it even a single inch, Philomena and Inoue crossed their arms as Yozora chuckled softly at whatever the cows said.

Giving one more pull, Yuna growled and punched the rock. Shaking her hand when she ended up hurting herself.

"So that's the strength of a Dragonkin? I always wondered what all the hype was about."

Glaring at Philomena as she snickered, Yuna's wings drooped.

"If those Kobolds were able to move it. There has to be a trick to it instead of requiring brute strength."

Walking back up to it, Inoue inspected it once more alongside the others.

"Darling. Look there. Don't those look like markings from pulling something?"

Looking to where Philomena was pointing, they all noticed scratch like indents in the cave floor to the left of the outwar curve of what they believed to be a boulder.

"Maybe it's not a boulder after all. But a sliding door."

Grabbing the right edge of it, he pulled and felt it move a bit.

Seeing that, Yuna dashed over to help alongside the others.

"On three. One. Two. Three!!"

With all four pulling together, the moved it with a fair bit of work.

Panting and congratulating each other, they looked into the seemingly, never ending tunnel.

"That looks pretty deep. Dark too."

Hearing Yozora's reluctance, he rubbed his chin in thought.

"Maybe we should return the cows before going in. Just encase more Kobolds show up. It would be hard to ensure their saftey in such a tight space."

Nodding in agreement, they all headed to the cave entrance.

"Lucky for us that the farm is close by the cave."

Nodding as they exited the cave, Inoue shielded his eyes from the brightness of the sun.

"So the plan is to return the cows and then rush back to the cave right? So that no one else finds the secret tunnel. Right?"

Walking toward the farm with the cows following Yozora, Inoue nodded as Philomena waited for his answer, cautiously glancing back at the cave every few seconds.

"Yeah. It should take us very long. We can see the farm from here."

With a nervous humm, Philomena glanced back at the cave.

"Ok. Just promise that we won't be long. Anyone could stumble in there and find the tunnel we opened. Who knows what kind of treasure those Kobolds hoarded."

Hearing Yuna join in with her, he sighed as they reached the farm gates.

"We'll only be a minute, guys. We're just dropping the cows off and we'll head right back."

Seeing an older looking man with a long grey beard walk up to them with a young girl next to him, Inoue stepped forward.

"Here's your cows. Unharmed and healthy."

As the young girl greeted the cows when they walked up to her, the man grabbed and frantically shook his hand.

"Thank you so much. These cows are irreplaceable. You and your friends have done us a great dead. I am unsure of how to properly thank you... Oh, I know. Roa! Go and grab a dozen bottles of our special milk."

Nodding, the young girl ran off toward a barn with the cows following as Yozora stepped forward.

"If you don't mind us asking. Why are those cows so special? You said that they were irreplaceable. Why is that?"

"Yeah, they're just cows right? Couldn't you just buy more?"

Shaking his head at Yozora and Philomena's question, the old man pulled on his beard.

"Not at all. Those two are special cows. The only two in he world as far as I know."

With her wings twitching in curiosity, Yuna leaned forward.

"How so? They look and smell like normal cows."

Chuckling, the old man nodded.

"By looks, yes they appear normal. But it's their milk that makes them special. You see the milk they produce have qualities unlike that of normal cows. It has mana boosting qualities and is also alcoholic in nature."

"So it boosts magical power and gets you drunk? And the cows produce it naturally? That's incredible."

Nodding in agreement with Yozora's shock, the others saw the young girl running up with a box of a dozen bottles of normal looking milk with the farm's logo on the bottles.

Taking the box from the small girl, he smiled when she waved before running back toward the cows.

"Thank you. You didn't really need to reward us again though. The quest reward is already way more than enough."

Chuckling when Yuna and Philomena elbowed Inoue with shocked faces, the old man shook his head.

"It's nothing at all. Those cows are worth ever Guira and gifted milk bottle. If you ever need any help from us, don't hesitate to ask. Our gate is always open for our saviours."

Heading back toward the cave, Yozora slapped Yuna's hand as she reached for a bottle.

"Not right now, Dear. You heard the farmer. It's alcoholic. We don't need you being drunk while going through a possibly booby trapped treasure tunnel."

Rubbing her hand and pouting, Yuna moaned as they reentered the cave, excited but also wary of the possibility of traps between them and their treasure.