Hearing Juzo-san’s assessment of the situation and realizing that the upcoming meeting with the Association was likely to turn into a grueling negotiation, we all let out a collective sigh. I had expected things to be difficult, but this was starting to feel like it might exceed what we could handle on our own.
Seeing the uneasy expressions on our faces, Juzo-san let out a soft sigh of his own and made a proposal.
"Well, if you're truly that anxious, I don't mind accompanying you to this interview. Your invitation—that letter you received—it didn't specifically state that only the three of you were allowed to attend, did it?"
"Eh? Ah, now that you mention it, it didn't say only the three of us. It just gave the date and time..."
"In that case, there should be no issue with me coming along as your guardian. After all, you are all still minors in high school. It isn't strange at all for a guardian to be present for an important discussion. Even if the nature of the talk requires me to wait in a separate room, simply knowing a guardian is on-site should prevent them from making any truly outrageous demands."
"It would be a huge help if you could, but are you sure? You're quite busy, aren't you, Old Man?"
It was true; if Juzo-san came with us as our guardian, we could stall the negotiation and break any unpleasant momentum by saying we needed to consult with him if they made an unreasonable proposal. We were high school students, after all; it was perfectly natural to consult with the adult accompanying us.
"Hmph, I don't have any particularly urgent business. I'll just need to shuffle a few things around."
"If you're sure... but please don't push yourself."
"Don't worry. I wouldn't have suggested it if it were impossible."
"I guess that’s true... Then, please. Having you with us would be a huge weight off our shoulders."
It was settled: Juzo-san would accompany us to the meeting with the Association. Given the gravity of the situation, the three of us had been feeling a bit exposed on our own, so having him there provided a significant sense of security.
"That's good, then. Well, though it can't be helped given the circumstances, technically speaking, this kind of contract shouldn't be signed by minors alone in the first place."
"Wait, what do you mean by that?"
"Hmm? You hadn't noticed? Or perhaps you just didn't have the mental leeway to think that far? As a basic rule, a minor under the protection of a guardian cannot enter into this type of contract independently. You hear about it on the news every now and then, don't you? Cases where a contract signed by a minor without a guardian's consent can be nullified—with a few exceptions, of course."
"Ah, I think I've heard of that before."
Juzo-san's explanation brought a few news stories to mind. There were those instances where a primary or middle schooler took their parent's credit card and racked up millions of yen in game microtransactions, only for the parents to sue and get a refund because the child had entered into a contract without authorization.
Of course, in our case, involving state secrets on a national level, I wasn't sure if that specific rule would hold up or if the government would just invoke an exception.
"Precisely. I intend to emphasize that point to ensure I'm granted a seat at the table. The Association likely wants to avoid involving guardians or third parties like lawyers because they want to keep the information from spreading."
"In that case, maybe we should push them a little and say we won't participate in the discussion unless they let the Old Man sit in."
"Indeed. If they have no intention of forcing an unfair contract on you, they shouldn't have a reason to refuse my presence. Conversely, if they stubbornly refuse to let me in, you should just listen to what they have to say and leave without signing a single thing. You can tell them you'll sign only after your lawyer has reviewed the terms."
"That's a good way to shut them down. But... a lawyer..."
If we were going to sign a complex and high-stakes contract, it would certainly save us from trouble later if we had a professional's opinion. It would also serve as a deterrent if they were trying to corner us into something disadvantageous.
But still...
"But Old Man, we don't have any connections to lawyers. How are we even supposed to hire one? Especially for a contract involving national secrets?"
"You needn't worry about that. If it truly becomes necessary, I'll introduce you to a good one. I know a fellow with the spine to speak his mind without pandering, even when the opponent is the state. He's quite used to these kinds of negotiations."
"R-really? That sounds like a very reliable person."
"Well, because of his tenacity, he's known in the legal world as a 'Soft-shelled Turtle' or an 'Alligator Snapping Turtle'—an annoyance who never lets go once he sinks his teeth in."
Wait, was that... actually someone we wanted to hire? We wanted to settle this matter quietly; we weren't looking to start a war. I had a feeling that if a man like that got involved, things would escalate into a massive incident.
Feeling a bit of trepidation, we politely declined for the time being—or rather, told Juzo-san that we would keep his contact in mind as a final resort.
"Fumu. He's not a bad man, but if you want to keep things quiet, hiring him should indeed be a last resort after we see how the Association plays their hand. He is the type who tends to blow things out of proportion whenever he gets the chance."
"Wait, blow things out of proportion...?"
"From his perspective, he's simply acting to maximize his client's benefits, but the process of doing so..."
"So the result of his 'hard work' is just a massive uproar..."
No, thank you. While maximizing profit was all well and good, it would be even more of a problem if he caused a scene. Even if the final payout was mediocre, we would much prefer for this matter to end without any turbulence.
Yeah, definitely. That lawyer was strictly a last resort.
"For now, we can decide on whether to rely on him later. First, we must see how they act and stay vigilant so we don't agree to any unfavorable terms. Once we know their stance, we can adjust our response."
In the end, all we could do was prepare as best as possible and react as the situation developed. Still, simply having Juzo-san there as an adult guardian would likely discourage them from looking down on us as just three kids or taking an arrogant tone. In this mess, reacting to their moves was really our only option.
I figured as long as we didn't get greedy and kept our heads on straight, nothing too terrible would happen... but I couldn't help but wonder.
Once the talk about the weekend meeting was settled, we decided to report the full circumstances of the dungeon's discovery to Juzo-san while we finished our tea. Since he was coming with us, we wanted him to know the details. It would be a headache if he were blindsided by something during the interview. If the Association questioned why we told him, we’d just say we had to explain the situation so he could act as our guardian.
If they complained, we could even ask them if they had expected us to be perfectly compliant just because they summoned us as minors. It was only common sense to give a minimum explanation to the person accompanying you. If anything, I felt we deserved praise for only telling one person.
"I see. So that's how you found it."
"Yeah. It's a remote, hidden spot in the mountains where almost no one goes. Unless someone was doing a forest survey, I don't think it would have ever been found. In our case, for better or worse, we just happened to stumble upon it. Uwajima-san—the Association representative who came to confirm the site—said that reports of finding a dungeon aren't that rare. Though apparently there are a lot of mistakes, considering how fast the investigators arrived after we reported it, undiscovered dungeons might be found more often than the public thinks."
"The fact that they can respond so quickly to a sudden report means they've handled many similar cases and have a solid protocol in place. It's been a little over a year since dungeons appeared; there might be far more undiscovered dungeons than we realize."
We nodded in agreement as Juzo-san spoke with a contemplative look. Most of Japan's land is mountainous and heavily forested; it's hard to judge things just by looking at satellite or aerial photography. On the other hand, wandering all over the mountains to search for them isn't a job that would finish in a year or two. Moreover, if they recklessly sent in personnel who weren't used to the terrain, there's no telling how many casualties they would suffer. It made sense that they would respond quickly when people like us, who were in the mountains for leisure or work, happened to find one. Since ordinary people were essentially acting as free scouts, all the investigators had to do was check the specific coordinates. Now that the dangers of dungeons were well-known, most people would prioritize reporting over stepping inside.
Well, explorers like us might enter, but in those cases, as long as the people involved weren't incredibly greedy, the matter would usually be settled with a discussion about buying items and signing NDAs, just like our situation. It wasn't surprising that the response had been standardized.
"Thinking about it that way, the upcoming meeting with the Association should go smoothly... regarding the dungeon, at least."
"...Right. The real issue is the other thing."
"Indeed. Considering the utility of the item you handed over—the magic bag—it's only natural they'd want a firm gag order. If the news got out, its social impact would be far greater than any other item."
"It's a bag that can store four or five times its apparent volume," Yuji added. "If that technology could be applied to shipping containers, it would be a total logistics revolution. It would also deal a massive blow to existing industries."
As Yuji said, if that technology were applied to shipping, the number of trucks and ships needed could be slashed drastically. Even if it were only a partial reduction, it would lead to massive layoffs in the name of business efficiency. Labor is one of the heaviest fixed costs for any company; they would cut it in a heartbeat if they could.
Perhaps even a mere rumor of a magic bag might cause overeager companies to panic or make hasty decisions before the technology was even viable. It could cause wild fluctuations in the stock market. For the politicians and bureaucrats running the country, economic instability and rising unemployment are nightmares. It was only natural for the Association to move to keep a lid on it.
"Even though it's a staple item of fantasy, right now it's a commodity that's barely a possibility to the world. They wouldn't want information confirming its existence to get out before they've prepared for the fallout."
"That's true... Wait, Old Man, did you know about magic bags?"
"Don't mock me. In a world where dungeon-related information is this pervasive, I've looked into the subject a bit myself. They're common items in RPGs, fantasy novels, and manga, aren't they?"
"Ah, you did know. Well, in anime and games, magic bags often have a time-stop feature for preservation, or they have infinite storage. The magic bag we submitted didn't have functions like that, though."
If it had possessed those features, the appraisal value wouldn't have been nearly that low, and there was a chance we might have been immediately detained for the sake of information control. Even if it caused a public outcry later, the government would likely prioritize the secret.
Considering that, our current situation was actually quite manageable.
"Well, I suppose so. If it had those functions, the matter wouldn't have been settled with just this level of fuss."
"Haha, true."
"But still, being able to expand internal volume alone makes it an incredibly formidable object. It's more than enough for the Association to be wary of the discoverers."
"That's why we handed it over obediently without even asking for the results of the appraisal Uwajima-san and the others performed. But still..."
I didn't think it was a wasted effort, but we were still caught up in a mess in the end. Still, I suppose we could say it was good that we weren't being interrogated for the discovery of the dungeon itself. If we had tried to hide the magic bag for ourselves, we would have been in far deeper water.
Having Juzo-san listen to our venting helped clear the air. Hiiragi-san and I eventually left Yuji's house with much lighter hearts. Next time I visited, I made a mental note to bring a gift to thank the Old Man for his advice.