My name is Thermos. Thermos Touchphone. And yes, that is my real name. It isn't a pseudonym. While everyone else around me is using an alias, I am using the name I was born with. There is a reason for that—a very troublesome reason. A truly, deeply troublesome reason.
One day, my superior assigned me a task. My mission was to infiltrate the Demon Kingdom and conduct an investigation. While "infiltration" sounds daunting, the Demon Kingdom is actually quite welcoming to visitors. You can enter the country even if you openly declare yourself a knight. Your movements aren't particularly restricted, either. In fact, I had already successfully infiltrated the Demon Kingdom twice in the past without hiding my status as a knight and returned safely. Because of that, I thought this would be another simple assignment. I was wrong. I was told that my infiltration team would consist of more than sixty people.
I thought they were fools. Sixty people is more than a scouting party; it is a legitimate military force. On a small battlefield, that many people could change the entire tide of war. If a group of sixty bandits or mountain outlaws appeared, the local army would be mobilized to deal with them. Even if the Demon Kingdom was tolerant of visitors, there was no way they would overlook such a large group moving together. I protested to my superior. I told him that if he wanted the mission to succeed, he had to cut the numbers. If it was just for investigation, three people—including myself—would be plenty. My superior understood that sixty was too many, but my protest was ignored. Instead, he came to me with a troubled expression and tried to win me over. He claimed it was a matter of "factions."
Factions? When I looked over the list of those accompanying me, I saw that a multitude of different groups were involved. The Royal Knight Division Faction, the First Knight Division Faction, the Second Knight Division Faction, the Central Staff Faction, the Southern Defense Squad Faction... Even if the goal of protecting the nation remained the same, different factions were born from the methods and means used to achieve it. As a career military man, factional politics were an inescapable headache. But if he was worried about factions, he should have just reduced the number and entrusted the mission to a single group. If that wasn't possible, he could have just left it to the Royal Knight Division Faction... No? It wasn't those factions? Then which one was it? Surely it wasn't the nobility? Not them either? Then what was left? "It’s the factions concerning the Demon Kingdom," my superior said.
I fell silent. Factions regarding the Demon Kingdom. Simply put, these were groups divided by their stance on how we should interact with the Demon realm. As it happened, while our country did not share a direct border with the Demon Kingdom, we were technically at war. The reason was simple: every generation of our kings, upon ascending the throne, made a sacred vow to absolutely destroy the Demon Kingdom. Since no noble dared to oppose this, our nation was unified in its complete hostility toward the demons. Because of that, there hadn't really been any factions before. We were enemies. That was all.
However, that changed recently... or perhaps about eight or nine years ago. The King’s resolve began to waver. "Wait a minute. Why does our country hate the Demon Kingdom so much? Do we hate the Demon Race? Not particularly. After all, demi-humans live in our country too." It was as if a spell had been broken. The King began to abandon his hostile stance. Or maybe he had been under a strange spell until then, and he had finally woken up. Regardless, as the King’s policy shifted, the social pressure that made hostility toward the Demon Kingdom a given began to fade. The King seemed to think that we didn't necessarily need to force ourselves to be at war with them. Naturally, I thought we should just stop the war if that was the case, but it wasn't that simple. The hostile stance toward the Demon Kingdom was a long-standing national policy, and the majority of our economy was built around it. A sudden change in direction would lead to national ruin. Even more troublesome was that we had formed alliances with neighboring countries to maintain that hostility. We weren't just allied with one or two nations; we were partnered with almost every country except the Demon Kingdom. We couldn't just suddenly flip our stance and announce we were stopping the war. If we did, our neighbors would attack us.
But we couldn't just leave things as they were. Even if we didn't share a land border, we were connected by the sea. It wasn't impossible for the Demon Kingdom to organize a massive expeditionary force and invade us by water. We were stuck. We had no real desire to fight the Demon Kingdom, but we couldn't drop our hostile stance without destroying our foreign relations. That was the current state of our country. And from that stalemate, the factions were born. The Maintain Current Status Faction. The Ignore Neighboring Countries and Bow to the Demon Kingdom Faction. The Demon Kingdom Alliance Solves Everything Faction. The Follow Ancestral Teachings and Fight the Demon Kingdom Faction. The Abandon the Country and Flee Faction. And dozens of other smaller groups.
Since the King belonged to the Maintain Current Status Faction, our country did nothing for a while. So why the sudden move now? The reason was simple: the King’s age. The King was over seventy. It wouldn't be strange for him to retire soon. There was no problem with the succession; the Prince who had been named heir was healthy and talented. He certainly wasn't an idiot who took the words of sycophants to heart. The problem was whether the Prince would make that vow to destroy the Demon Kingdom when he became King. He had said as much in the past, so perhaps it was strange to worry, but a formal vow was an act of hostility. Once that vow was made, all negotiations with the Demon Kingdom would become impossible for the foreseeable future. The demons wouldn't trust someone who vowed to destroy them one day and then tried to be friends the next. If we wanted to avoid trouble with the Demon Kingdom, he shouldn't make the vow. But if he didn't, the neighboring countries would become suspicious. This was a dilemma that even the Maintain Current Status Faction couldn't ignore.
And that was where I came in. The "infiltration and investigation" was merely a cover. My true objective was to establish a diplomatic window with the Demon Kingdom. And, if possible—if I could manage it—my mission was to convey a secret message: if our country happened to make a vow to destroy the Demon Kingdom, it would be a mere political performance, and we had no actual desire to be enemies. I understood. It was an incredibly troublesome mission. Because of that, I wanted to double-check one more thing. Given how sensitive the mission was, why did my party have more than sixty people? Apparently, while the Maintain Current Status Faction was leading the dispatch, the other factions had caught wind of it. They had added their own people to the group to act as watchers, ensuring I didn't conduct any "unauthorized" negotiations.
In other words, the majority of my companions were there to obstruct my real mission. My superior insisted they weren't there to obstruct me, just to watch. And he claimed it wasn't "the majority," only about half. That was no comfort at all. I figured I could use the large numbers to our advantage by disguising ourselves as a caravan, but then I was told that going straight to the Royal Capital would be too conspicuous and that I had to take a long detour. They made it sound so easy. I mean, the moment you have sixty people, aren't you already prepared to stand out? No? We had to be discreet to avoid the surveillance of other countries? You mean so that our own neighbors don't find out we’re trying to make nice with the demons? Fine. I would just have to proceed on the assumption that they would try to sabotage me as well. I let out a long sigh. But this was my job. I had to do it.
I steeled my resolve. To pose as a caravan, I first needed the help of a merchant. I asked one for his cooperation. He refused. He said the Demon Kingdom was terrifying. Because of our long-standing hostility, people thought the Demon Kingdom was a den of monsters. Wait... the merchants who actually trade with the Demon Kingdom should know better! "Precisely because we trade there, we won't get involved in such a mess. What happens if we're banned from the country?" the merchant told me. Spoken like a true businessman. I learned that day that no one appreciates a sound argument when it gets in the way of their profit. In the end, I had to ask a traveling merchant for help. He accepted readily, which was a lifesaver. And so, we boarded a ship belonging to the Demon Kingdom and set sail.
My name is Thermos. Thermos Touchphone. The reason I don't use a pseudonym is because of my role as a troublesome envoy. Haa. Honestly, telling me to handle the entire process of establishing a diplomatic window by myself... it’s easy for them to say, isn't it? After traveling for about a year through various routes, we finally reached Shashato City. Twenty days have passed since we arrived. However, I haven't been able to make contact with anyone who seems like a viable diplomatic lead. Even when I try to feel out the local merchants, the atmosphere is discouraging. I wanted to at least find an opening before heading to the Royal Capital, but I was stuck.
"Thermos, what’s the matter? Aren't you going to eat?" "I'm eating, I'm eating." The chicken curry was divine. Hm? I looked over and saw my companions, Dan and Mick, eating with some strangers a few tables away. There was a mix of adults and children... Ah, their baseball friends. If I didn't have this mission, I would probably be playing around like that too. No, no. I had to stay focused. Neither Dan nor Mick was just playing around. They were working hard to gather information. It might look like they were just chatting with a Young Maid, but that must be part of the investigation as well. I suppose I should try to work a little harder myself.