Shota's Isekai NTR Adventure Chapter 1961: Is something wrong?

"There’s nothing wrong with those people."

Following my warnings, the Merman King had dispatched his subordinates to keep a close eye on the visitors from the other races.

Throughout this period, not a single report suggested any suspicious behavior. On the contrary, they spent the bulk of their time wandering through the Merman Empire, behaving exactly as tourists would.

Given the sheer excitement they displayed, they truly appeared like children visiting a festival for the very first time.

I responded with a calm tone, "I already said that it isn’t as if they would do anything. It’s just that something feels off about all of this."

"Are you alright? Is something wrong with you?" the Merman King questioned, his voice sounding peculiar.

A sense of bitterness washed over me at his words, as I understood exactly what he was implying.

I realized I wouldn't be able to change his mind, as it seemed he had already formed a specific opinion of me.

Ariel was the one who stood up for me, stating, "You know that he isn’t like this at all. If he is asking you to do this, then there must be something important."

While the Merman King's expression remained stoic, he at least dropped the subject. Out of respect for Ariel, he chose to accept her perspective as the truth.

Of course, part of this was also due to the foundation of trust I had previously established with him.

"Please just keep watching over them for me," I requested as we concluded the conversation.

The Merman King gave me that same odd look, but he eventually nodded in acknowledgement. Though he clearly harbored doubts, he was willing to follow my lead on this matter.

"What are you so worried about?" the Merman King finally asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

The problem was, I truly didn't have a concrete answer to give him.

"Reporting in, there’s been an incident."

The moment the guard entered, I blurted out, "What is it? What happened?"

Startled by my sudden outburst, the guard hesitated, glancing toward the Merman King as if seeking permission to speak. After all, this was the Merman Empire, and the Merman King was the ultimate authority here.

My behavior was admittedly a bit out of place.

Nevertheless, the Merman King gave a simple nod, signaling for the guard to proceed.

Only then did the guard explain, "It’s just that one of the guests got a bit too excited and felt a bit faint, so we escorted them to a place for them to rest."

The guard delivered the report as if it were a triviality, something hardly worth mentioning. Had the Merman King not issued a strict order to report every detail regarding these guests, such a minor event would have gone ignored.

When the report concluded, the Merman King turned his gaze toward me, waiting for my reaction.

With an awkward expression, I said, "Just make sure to help them as much as you can to make them feel comfortable."

The guard didn't depart immediately, checking with the Merman King one more time.

Once the Merman King nodded in confirmation, the guard saluted and exited. However, as he left, he shot a strange look in my direction.

After the guard's departure, the Merman King asked, "Well? What do you think? Do you think that something worse than this will happen?"

His voice carried a teasing edge, though I knew he wasn't being malicious. It was merely his attempt to lighten the heavy atmosphere I had created.

Sighing, I admitted, "I might have been a bit too sensitive..."

Even as I spoke those words, I didn't truly believe them.

A nagging sensation persisted deep within me, whispering that something was wrong... yet it was difficult to justify my concerns given the current situation. It was especially hard to argue when there wasn't a shred of evidence to support my intuition.

The Merman King patted my shoulder and said, "I know that this matter has been stressful for everyone and you’ve also felt your fair share of stress, so I don’t blame you. Perhaps it would be best if you just relax for a few days."

I shook my head and replied, "I still have somewhere to go during this time."

This was a plan I had already shared with them some time ago.

The only reason I had lingered this long was due to the unease I felt regarding the behavior of those two gods.

However, there were still two more messengers of the gods that I needed to locate.

Ultimately, I couldn't afford to stay any longer; I was set to depart the following morning.

But before I left...

"Please just keep watching over them for me and make sure that they’re alright."

That was the final request I made to the Merman King.

He looked at me with skepticism, as everything had appeared perfectly normal over the last few days. Yet, seeing the unwavering resolve in my eyes, he eventually nodded in agreement.

That was the only assurance I needed.

"Then I’ll leave it up to you."

A strange, awkward tension lingered in the air once the matter was settled, but there was nothing I could do to fix it...

I could only hope that I was merely overthinking things...