Hashimoto Maya immediately realized that Jiang Xia was asking about Irish when he heard the name "Edward."
He glanced at the pitch-black island around them and said in a normal tone, "He was also on the plane. We'd remind each other of painful memories, so we haven't contacted each other at all since getting off the plane."
...If Uzo really was watching this island, he hoped he would hear that and go bother whoever he was supposed to bother instead of clinging to an ordinary Peripheral Member who was recuperating.
Jiang Xia did not seem particularly concerned about Irish. He had merely remembered that they were companions and asked in passing.
Upon hearing the answer, he did not press further. Instead, like a detective skilled at pursuing details, his thoughts quickly jumped elsewhere.
"Come to think of it, your Japanese is much more fluent than before." He still remembered how Hashimoto Maya had pretended to be a foreigner and approached him on the plane some time ago.
Hashimoto Maya was exhausted, but being questioned by a detective willing to reason things out was still better than being dragged out of a corner as a murder suspect.
He had no choice but to keep improvising at lightning speed. "Actually, my Japanese has always been pretty good. It's just that I stayed in the United Kingdom for a while, and my accent got influenced by the environment. Now that I've been back for some time, I've readjusted."
Jiang Xia could not help looking back at the cup of iced black tea and rubbing his chin. He comes up with excuses fast, and they even sound fairly plausible... Just as expected of the little brother I picked out.
Unfortunately, perhaps because he had lost the support of an executive, Hashimoto Maya's Killing Intent