The Island Elders' Confession

It wasn't until Jiang Hang gave her a no-questions-asked gesture that her emotions gradually calmed down.

At this point, she could roughly guess what Jiang Hang wanted to do.

Let's catch Sumi Ebihara red-handed while she's digging up the mermaid's grave.

I hope everything goes well.

Shimadai Kimie prayed silently in her heart.

Then the three of them spent another twenty minutes successfully circling back to the bottom of Mermaid Falls before the hour was up.

By this time, there were already quite a few tourists at the scene.

These tourists had no idea that they were just one step away from committing a murder.

Heiji Hattori also spotted Jiang Hang returning with Shimadai Kimie and Sumi Ebihara from afar, and wondered where the three of them had gone and what they had done.

He has many guesses in his mind, but because he still lacks clues, he is unable to figure out the whole truth.

After all, the murderer was stopped by Jiang Hang before the crime was committed. Without the crime, the events of that year would not have revealed any more flaws.

Although Heiji Hattori had previously teamed up with Conan to prevent a case from happening, it was only by chance that the two of them worked together to accomplish it.

Although his abilities have improved considerably under the stimulation of Conan and Jiang Hang, he is still lacking in some areas.

The subsequent awarding of the Dugong Arrow proceeded without too many surprises.

Jiang Hang successfully obtained the newly created Dugong Arrow.

The only difference between this arrow and the other two is...

The hair tied to the other two arrows was probably a wig, but the hair on the arrow in his hand looked like it was made from Shimadai Kimie's own hair.

In a sense, this also has some commemorative value.

After the ceremony, as the tourists and Sumi Ebihara hurriedly left, the elderly people on the island came over one by one to express their gratitude to Shimadai Kimie.

In the past, Shimadai Kimie would have simply thought that the other party had come to express their gratitude for her completing the final ritual.

But now, knowing that these elderly people may have known the whole truth from the beginning, Shimadai Kimie seems to hear a deeper meaning in their gratitude.

Jiang Hang also walked over and gave her a questioning look.

It seems to be asking whether or not to tell these elderly people everything.

After some hesitation, Shimadai Kimie gave him a look of approval.

All of this really needs to be resolved tonight.

Chapter 518: Chapter 514: The Confessions of the Old People on the Island

Shimadai Kimie greeted the elderly people on the island with a simple hello.

After all, no matter what, they were his elders, and they had watched him grow up since he was a child.

These elderly people continued to express their gratitude to Shimadai Kimie and Miyo-sama for their contributions to Mermaid Island over the years.

These are all things she has heard in previous years.

At that moment, Shimadai Kimie suddenly felt that it was all too ironic.

She softly called out the names she usually used for these elders.

"I feel a bit tired right now. Maybe after this Mermaid Festival ends, I'll want to leave Mermaid Island and go see other places."

Heiji Hattori, who was originally waiting near Mermaid Falls for Jiang Hang's next move, suddenly had a flash of inspiration after hearing what Shimadai Kimie said, as if he had realized something.

He looked at Jiang Hang, who was standing not far from Shimadai Kimie, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "So this is how the case is."

He hadn't noticed this at all before.

Perhaps only Jiang Hang could uncover so many truths related to that year in such a short time.

Upon hearing Shimadai Kimie's sudden words, the elderly men exchanged glances, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes.

She has been performing the Mermaid Festival as a shrine maiden on Mermaid Island since she was a child. In recent years, she has also taken over the duties that her mother once performed. At the Mermaid Festival, she will transform into the Miyo-sama Shimadai Kimie. Why would she suddenly say such a thing today?

If she's going to leave, how long does she plan to stay?

After a moment of silence, the old men simply sighed and then revealed the expressions that were expected.

"Indeed, Junhui, you have already wasted too much of your youth on Mermaid Island. There are hardly any young people on the island to begin with, and the only man of the opposite sex your age is Rokuro Fukuyama."

"But Rokuro Fukuyama is already that girl from the Ebihara family's fiancé. You can't keep dragging this on. It would be good for you to go out for a walk."

Listening to the words of the elderly people on the island, Shimadai Kimie felt a little better.

They did know the whole truth, but they never mentioned it to these young people.

But at least they didn't intend to tie themselves to the island forever.

Compared to Saori Kadowaki Sumi Ebihara, Shimadai Kimie, having received this answer, couldn't feel much resentment towards the elderly women's choices at this moment.

So she relaxed and looked at the people in front of her, and asked the most crucial question.

"After I leave, how will the Mermaid Festival be held in the future, and what will happen to Miyo-sama's fate?"

When suddenly asked this question, a look of shame appeared on the faces of those people.

Through this question, they also realized that Shimadai Kimie probably guessed that these old people knew the truth about what happened back then.

Jiang Hang stepped forward at the opportune moment and looked at the people in front of him.

"I am a detective who came to this island by invitation. As you probably know, I came to this island because of Saori Kadowaki."

"And after my investigation, I think it's time for you to tell Miss Shimadai Kimie the truth about Mermaid Island yourselves."

After hearing Jiang Hang's words, they let out another deep sigh.

"Since you already know, then we won't hide it from you anymore."

"Everything about Mermaid Island was indeed discussed and decided by us half a century ago, in order to attract more attention from the outside world."

"I just didn't expect that all our efforts over the years would have been in vain. Instead, the fire three years ago turned Mermaid Island into a popular tourist destination. It's really ironic."

"Actually, we already knew three years ago that the person who died in that fire was not a mermaid, but your mother."

"After that fire, we discussed whether to end the Mermaid Festival and were prepared to tell the truth after you woke up that day."

"We just didn't expect that the next day we would see you dressed up Miyo-sama, and we couldn't say anything else."

"After all, our island is called Mermaid Island. Since you still want to continue playing the role of Miyo-sama, we can only silently support your decision from behind."

"Over the past few years, we have always wanted to apologize to you. Please forgive us selfish old folks."

These old men were quite courageous and responsible. After realizing that the lie of Mermaid Island had been exposed, they knelt down on the ground and performed a dogeza (a deep bowing gesture) towards Shimadai Kimie.

"So if you want to leave Mermaid Island now, we won't blame you. As for the Mermaid Festival, we will try to explain the situation to future tourists. If Mermaid Island loses its current status because of the disappearance of the Miyo-sama, then that is the problem of us islanders."

Upon hearing the old man's words, Shimadai Kimie wiped her eyes.

If she had asked a few more questions a few years ago, perhaps things wouldn't be like this now.

Unfortunately, her mother didn't realize this, and she only realized it today.

It was at this time that Jiang Hang stepped forward again.

"So since you know that the person who died in that fire three years ago was Shimadai Kimie's mother, do you even know who set the fire back then?"

Faced with this question, the elderly people on the island were now genuinely hesitant.

Judging from their appearance, they truly do not know the truth.

Jiang Hang then looked at these people.

Judging from how Shimadai Kimie addressed these people, they don't seem to be relatives of the criminals.

"According to my investigation, the fire back then was not an accident at all, but a man-made disaster. The reason was that those people wanted to know whether Miyo-sama was truly immortal, and thus committed a crime."

Upon hearing this, the old men frowned suddenly, as if they had realized something.

Although they didn't know much about some of the island's secrets, these old folks were certainly familiar with most of the island's daily affairs.

Because the remains of what appeared to be a mermaid were found at the scene of the fire three years ago.

Before that, many young people on the island were skeptical of the legend of mermaids' immortality.

After all, it's already the 21st century, and those kinds of ghost stories are no longer mainstream.

Therefore, these elderly people did not pay attention to the thoughts of the younger generation, nor did they tell these young people the truth of the past, lest they accidentally let it slip.

But after that fire, many young people have remained convinced of the existence of mermaids, and they are among the most enthusiastic participants in the Mermaid Festival every year.

In addition to participating in the Mermaid Festival, they often ask people on the island if they know where the mermaid's remains are buried, expressing their desire to go and pay their respects.

It was only because Shimadai Kimie had personally buried her mother's remains in a certain place on the island that no one on the entire island knew where she was buried except for her.

And she kept this secret all along, never telling anyone. When the young people asked, she simply said it was Miyo-sama and told them not to ask any more questions.

In fact, three years have passed, and they have almost completely forgotten what caused the fire back then.

They have always considered that fire to be an accident.

It wasn't until today, when this famous detective from out of town said he had uncovered the truth of what happened back then, that they were able to connect the matter with those young people.

"Could it really be that they did it?"

The elderly women used the word "she" when they spoke, indicating that they had figured out the identities of the suspects.

"Now that you know, how do you think this matter should be handled?"

There were hardly any young people on Fish Island to begin with.

It's safe to say that if they make a statement, the number of young people on the island will likely decrease even further.

Who knows who will raise the flag that Mermaid Island encountered decades from now?

However, this is no longer something they should be considering.

If the matter of Shimadai Kimie is not handled properly now, the reputation of Mermaid Island may be completely ruined this year, not to mention the future.

Moreover, the Shimashiro family has worked hard for half a century for four generations to build Mermaid Island, and now only Shimadai Kimie is left on the island. They already feel very guilty, and if they can't give the other party justice, then they really are not human.

So these people directly stated that as long as there was evidence to show that the fire was indeed set by the people on the island, then the elderly people on the island would definitely stand on the side of Shimadai Kimie.

Jiang Hang nodded.

He kept a close eye on the expressions of these people to make sure they were serious and that no one would tip off the two girls behind their backs.

Of course, Altair can also be useful in this situation.

With Altair watching from the sky, who was aware of the truth, Jiang Hang, holding the Dugong Arrow, looked at the two girls not far away, whose eyes were filled with curiosity.

They haven't accepted all these changes yet, not even now.

Wasn't Jiang Hang's visit here to investigate the whereabouts of that Ms. Saori Kadowaki?

How did it suddenly come down to whether or not the Mermaid Festival will still be held in the future?

What did they mean by what they just said?

Could it be that the young shrine maiden in her twenties is the Miyo-sama they saw at noon and in the evening?

Could it be that this priestess is also skilled in disguise?

Thinking of this, the two girls couldn't help but shake their heads with a hint of regret.

The two of them are still researching the ability to disguise themselves.

Despite having spent so much time mastering the art of disguise, it's still somewhat difficult for them to identify who has used it.

It's one thing if they encountered the Kaito Kid before; he evaded the police's pursuit for so many years with his superb disguise skills, so it's not surprising that the two of them could tell him apart.

But they never expected that while traveling on Mermaid Island, they would encounter a girl whose disguise skills were so superb.

After the elderly people left, the two women quickly surrounded Jiang Hang, wanting to find out the truth of the case.

Jiang Hang glanced at Heiji Hattori from afar, as well as Shimadai Kimie, whose eyes were still red.

Shimadai Kimie felt Jiang Hang's gaze and simply nodded slightly, indicating that she wanted to let it all end.

At this Heiji Hattori also walked over, seemingly wanting to know more.

Jiang Hang didn't waste any time and briefly explained the case to the group of people.

"What? Saori Kadowaki was one of the perpetrators of that fire back then?"