This was the shipwreck incident from five years ago.
Kimie Shimabukuro had always thought her father was buried at sea, with no remains left, never knowing that Rokuro Fukuyama had killed him.
Yuu Hoshimiya's memory didn't involve this point; if he hadn't used magic to search the Fukuyama house without missing a corner, he wouldn't have discovered this.
The flames of revenge flashed again in the shrine maiden's pale purple eyes.
Yuu Hoshimiya continued: "Mr. Fukuyama, being a director suits you quite well, but the habit of filming everything isn't very good. The disc hidden under the stone slab in the basement was accidentally found by me."
"Killing someone and then filming it as a memento, that's stupid enough."
This could be considered an occupational disease.
At that time, Rokuro Fukuyama, who was obsessed with photography and filming, kept shooting everything; he had habitually recorded everything happening around him.
For such a special event, even knowing it was disadvantageous to him, he couldn't bear to destroy it.
Hearing this, Rokuro Fukuyama's eyes were filled with nothing but coldness.
If only the theft of the skeleton and eating bone powder were exposed, it wouldn't be a big deal.
But now that his murder was also known, he had to silence them.
Rokuro Fukuyama chuckled lightly: "Tsk, I thought you were just a pretty boy from Tokyo; didn't expect you to have some skills. No wonder you could get Kimie so quickly."
Speaking of the latter part, a look of jealousy appeared on Rokuro Fukuyama's face.
He pursued Kimie Shimabukuro mainly for immortality, but facing the beautiful shrine maiden with a good figure, which man wouldn't want to get close?
But as her childhood friend, he hadn't even held her hand for so many years, yet Yuu Hoshimiya became so intimate with Kimie Shimabukuro in just two days; how could he not be jealous?
Suppressing his jealousy, Rokuro Fukuyama said viciously: "However, no one else should know about this matter!"
Yuu Hoshimiya smiled lightly and shook his head: "Indeed not; I sneaked into the underground warehouse alone to search."
"Oh, so that's how it is!" A strange smile appeared on Rokuro Fukuyama's face: "Then please, obediently die for me!"
Saying that, Rokuro Fukuyama immediately rushed up with a dagger, stabbing at the two.
Beside him, Kimie's shoulder was injured, making movement inconvenient, so Yuu Hoshimiya held Kimie and dodged.
How fast was his reaction speed, far exceeding ordinary people!
It was completely like a cat playing with a mouse, teasing Rokuro Fukuyama. While holding Kimie, he slowly led Rokuro Fukuyama towards the cliff.
But seeing the two dodging in embarrassment, Rokuro Fukuyama thought he had the upper hand, laughing proudly from time to time: "Don't run, stop obediently, maybe I can give you both a quick death."
"Don't be like that old guy Kyouhei Shimabukuro, refusing to say anything, finally grinded to death by me cut by cut; that would be too time-wasting."
Kimie stopped and cursed: "You beast, he was my father, the person you always called uncle; you treated my father like this?"
Rokuro Fukuyama's eyes were red.
"Who told you, bitch, to be like your father, saying nothing? I know your family has been guarding the secret of mermaids, just wanting to monopolize the method of immortality. You Shimabukuro family all deserve to die!"
Kimie didn't want to run anymore. Her chest heaved constantly with anger, her eyes full of hatred, and she couldn't stop struggling.
"Yuu-kun, put me down and run by yourself. I'm injured and already a burden. Anyway, I've lived enough; let me perish together with this guy!"
Yuu Hoshimiya stopped her decisively: "What nonsense are you talking about? I won't let you die so easily."
Hearing this, Kimie's eyes trembled slightly.
And Yuu Hoshimiya pulled Kimie to dodge again, while detecting other places with magic in his mind.
He was waiting for the police searching the mountain or Heiji Hattori to find this place. In that case, his pre-designed plan would come in handy.
During this period, he could only keep dragging these two.
Not long after, Heiji Hattori and the balding police officer searching followed the fighting sounds, pushed aside the leaves, and saw Rokuro Fukuyama wielding a knife near the cliff.
The two shouted repeatedly: "Stop!"
But the distance was too far, and Rokuro Fukuyama, bent on killing, didn't notice at all.
Seeing someone finally appear, a sneer curled up the corner of Yuu Hoshimiya's mouth.
Watching Rokuro Fukuyama rushing over with the dagger again, he pretended to be out of breath, pushed Kimie Shimabukuro away, and fell backwards himself.
After the two separated, Rokuro Fukuyama couldn't stop his feet for a moment and rushed past.
Just then, his shoes seemed to step on a smooth rolling stone, losing balance instantly.
In fact, Yuu Hoshimiya used wind magic to take the opportunity to push him from behind.
Instantly, Rokuro Fukuyama's body rushed forward uncontrollably, unable to stop at all.
Finally, he stepped on empty air.
With a strong sense of weightlessness, Rokuro Fukuyama realized he was suspended in the air and immediately let out an extremely shrill scream.
"Ah!"
His whole body fell from the cliff, and red and white matter spewed out instantly.
No need to check; he was definitely dead.
Even if he didn't die from the fall, Yuu Hoshimiya would use magic to finish him off.
But looking at it now, it was saved.
Seeing this scene, both the balding police officer and Heiji Hattori opened their mouths wide. The situation changed so fast; the knife-wielding attacker fell off the cliff and died just like that. The two hurriedly ran over.
And Kimie Shimabukuro still looked in disbelief. She crawled to the edge of the cliff and poked her head out.
Seeing the mangled Rokuro Fukuyama below, she finally couldn't help shedding tears.
She buried her forehead on the ground, constantly calling for her mom and dad.
Yuu Hoshimiya came to her side, gently stroked her soft back, and comforted gently: "It's okay, the enemy is dead, Miss Kimie, don't be sad anymore."
Kimie Shimabukuro got up and threw herself into Yuu Hoshimiya's arms, crying like pear blossoms bathed in rain, wetting the lapel of his suit.
Soon after, Heiji Hattori and the balding police officer hurried over.
Yuu Hoshimiya lowered his head, approached Kimie's ear, and whispered: "Kimie, later you just need to say you were asked to come here by Rokuro Fukuyama; leave other matters to me to answer."
Hearing this, Kimie's body trembled, and she finally connected everything.
Undoubtedly, the person who asked her to come was Yuu Hoshimiya, and the person who asked Rokuro Fukuyama to come was also Yuu Hoshimiya.
And he knew everything long ago, and all this was planned by him.
That's why from the meeting, he didn't question why there were only two people in the shrine, including her sudden departure during the memorial service later.
Kimie Shimabukuro's heart was in turmoil, not knowing whether to thank Yuu Hoshimiya or blame him for keeping it from her all along.
She didn't specifically avoid Yuu Hoshimiya before, partly because she thought she was going to fake death anyway, so it didn't matter.
And she didn't want to hide it from Yuu Hoshimiya specifically.
Although they had only been together for two days, Yuu Hoshimiya was the first male she had acted with in her life.
Looking at the shocked and stunned shrine maiden, Yuu Hoshimiya also knew she had understood everything.
But now was not the time to explain; he continued to whisper: "Don't worry, I will make sure you are fine. But wait for me in the shrine at midnight tonight; I have something to say to you."
Kimie Shimabukuro nodded silently.
Heiji Hattori and the balding police officer arrived, and patrol officers, searching police, and villagers also arrived one after another.
Heiji Hattori said with lingering fear: "That was close just now; if you hadn't dodged, you would have been stabbed to death directly. Didn't expect this guy to be so frenzied, wanting to kill even Teacher Hoshimiya."
Yuu Hoshimiya said: "Fortunately, I followed, otherwise Kimie would be dead."
"This Rokuro Fukuyama is really crazy. Killing Kimie's father, Sumi, Naoko, and Saori wasn't enough; he even wanted to kill Kimie. It's too frenzied."
Heiji Hattori wondered: "Was Miss Saori also killed? What happened to Miss Kimie's father?"
Yuu Hoshimiya nodded: "Yes, Rokuro Fukuyama said just now that he killed Miss Saori and threw her into the shrine warehouse to burn the body and destroy traces."
Then Yuu Hoshimiya glanced at Kimie in his arms and said: "Let's talk after going down the mountain. She seems to be greatly frightened; hope no psychological shadow is left."
The balding police officer on the side naturally had no objection. He didn't want to suffer the wind here either, so he ordered his subordinates to go to the bottom of the cliff to collect Rokuro Fukuyama's remains.
On the way, Kimie Shimabukuro still clung tightly to Yuu Hoshimiya's body, looking frightened.
Even when the police approached, she refused to let go.
Heiji Hattori couldn't bear the curiosity in his heart and asked: "Teacher Hoshimiya, what about the Elder? I didn't see her in the shrine just now either?"
Yuu Hoshimiya said: "The Elder is fine too; we'll talk about the specific situation after going down the mountain."
When everyone returned to the shrine, they saw firefighters surrounding the outside of the shrine. The fire had been extinguished, and countless plumes of blue smoke floated from the warehouse.
Firefighters pulled out a charred corpse covered with a white cloth from inside.
Yuu Hoshimiya led everyone back to the main hall of the shrine and sat down. The island residents also followed in one by one, and even Sumi and Naoko's relatives came.
Yuu Hoshimiya began to narrate his altered deduction.
"This incident on Mermaid Island is not the so-called mermaid haunting. The real murderer is Rokuro Fukuyama. However, he accidentally lost his footing and fell off the cliff to his death while attempting to kill us just now. It can be considered retribution for evil!"
The islanders exclaimed one by one.
"How is that possible?"
"That guy looked like a good person!"
"Really can't judge a book by its cover."
Yuu Hoshimiya continued: "The root of all this is the legend of immortality on Mermaid Island. Rokuro Fukuyama believed in this legend particularly, so for the dream of immortality, he transformed into an executioner wielding a butcher knife."
"The fact that Miss Kimie's father, Kyouhei Shimabukuro, was buried at sea five years ago was actually not a shipwreck, but Rokuro Fukuyama's doing. Because he thought the Shimabukuro family guarded the secret of Mermaid Island, he held him hostage to force it out, and finally killed him when he didn't get a satisfactory answer."
Hearing this, the islanders were all shocked and suspicious, and began to discuss, buzzing.
The balding police officer frowned: "Mr. Hoshimiya, do you have evidence? This was five years ago!"
Yuu Hoshimiya said: "In the small room of the warehouse at Fukuyama's house, lifting the carpet reveals an entrance to a basement. The video disc of Mr. Fukuyama torturing and killing Kimie's father back then is buried under a stone slab in the basement. You can send someone to check now."
"In addition, regarding the bone powder on the table in the basement and the bones in the sack in the cabinet, please ask the people sent to be careful and collect them back. After all, these are the bones of Kimie's mother."
Hearing these words, Kimie Shimabukuro's body couldn't help trembling.
Heiji Hattori frowned again, "Teacher Hoshimiya, didn't Miss Kimie say her mother died in the shipwreck five years ago? Was she also killed by Rokuro Fukuyama?"
Yuu Hoshimiya shook his head.
"No, Miss Kimie's mother didn't die in the shipwreck back then; she didn't go to sea at that time."
"Just because of excessive grief, plus playing the Elder was too exhausting, she simply told the outside world she also died in the shipwreck, and then lived as the Elder."
Yuu Hoshimiya glanced at the group of elderly islanders.
"I believe the elderly people on the island also know this matter. The Elder who died in the shrine warehouse fire three years ago was Kimie's mother!"
What?
Kimie Shimabukuro's pupils kept contracting.
Wasn't this matter a secret? Why did Yuu-kun just say it out loud?
Kimie Shimabukuro looked up at the islanders in the hall, and those people dared not meet her gaze.
However, Yuu Hoshimiya's gaze became sharper, suppressing those islanders until they could hardly breathe.
An uncle spoke up: "Actually, the older people on the island know that the previous Elder was played by Kimie's mother."
"After the fire three years ago, we thought about not holding any 'Dugong Assembly' anymore. Originally wanted to tell you this, Kimie, but when we arrived at your house and saw you put on the Elder's makeup and costume, those words just couldn't come out."
"Sorry, Kimie!"
"Sorry, Kimie!"
Islander after islander kowtowed to Kimie, asking for her forgiveness.
Kimie Shimabukuro was completely stunned; she couldn't believe this was true no matter what.
She struggled to adhere to her mother's last wish, carefully dressing up as the Elder, afraid of being recognized.
But now someone told her this wasn't a secret at all; others were cooperating with her acting.
This psychological gap was simply driving people crazy.
The shrine maiden looked at Yuu Hoshimiya with tearful eyes.
Yuu Hoshimiya patted her back gently, and her tears flowed uncontrollably, finally collapsing weakly on the cushion.
Yuu Hoshimiya continued: "But the young people on the island, such as Kimie, Naoko, Saori, Sumi, and Rokuro Fukuyama, didn't know this."
"Therefore, when Kimie's mother died in the fire three years ago, she was dressed as the Elder, that is, with her thighs and calves tied up, walking on her knees."
"Coincidentally, the lower body bones were smashed by the falling pillar, creating a skeleton with only the upper body. The legend of the mermaid skeleton spread because of this and was heard by Rokuro Fukuyama."
"After that, Rokuro Fukuyama sneaked into the shrine and stole the skeleton. The bones and bone powder I just mentioned in his basement were stolen by him, the bones of Miss Kimie's mother."
Heiji Hattori's heart trembled, showing shock: "This guy didn't really believe those rumors passed around, really thinking those bone powders have the effect of immortality, and then ate the bone powder!"
The next moment, seeing Yuu Hoshimiya nod, and Kimie Shimabukuro's crying become louder, he hurriedly apologized to Kimie.
No matter where, respecting the dead is never wrong.
Especially in Japan, if disturbed like this after death, legend has it that one will never be reincarnated.
Looking at the shrine maiden crying almost to fainting in Yuu Hoshimiya's arms, Heiji Hattori rarely regretted his carelessness and speaking without thinking.
The police around looked at Kimie Shimabukuro with sympathy.
Father murdered, mother died and bones eaten...
Really too miserable.
A moment later, a panting police officer brought over a sack of bones and a disc.
"This, what Mr. Hoshimiya said is correct; these things were really found in the basement."
Everyone no longer doubted, all looking at Yuu Hoshimiya with admiration.
Seeing this, Yuu Hoshimiya calmly began to officially pin the blame on the dead Rokuro Fukuyama.
"Because of the fire case three years ago, attracting police attention, Rokuro Fukuyama lurked for a long time, daring not to commit crimes again."
"However, by coincidence, stealing and eating Kimie's mother's skeleton was known by Sumi and Saori. Saori didn't dare to speak out, so she secretly ran away from home and defected to her good friend Kimie's home. And Sumi thought she was Rokuro Fukuyama's fiancée and nothing would happen, so she had no guard."
"In last night's 'Dugong Assembly', Rokuro Fukuyama invited the defenseless Sumi to the mountain, killed her, and dumped the body in the Mermaid Waterfall."
"Rokuro Fukuyama, having moved with killing intent, thought about going all the way, intending to escape Mermaid Island directly after this event. However, before escaping, he also wanted to get the 'Dugong Arrow' and the remaining mermaid skeleton."
"When we were mourning at the Ebihara house in the morning, he returned to his home alone, put on the mermaid prop suit, walked from the coastline to the side yard of the Ebihara house, wanting to ask Naoko for the Dugong Arrow."
"Naoko refused to give it, the two quarreled, and finally Rokuro Fukuyama killed Naoko with a rope and tied her to the fishing net. The prop suit in his warehouse should still have some traces, and the missing Dugong Arrow should also be found inside!"
"After that, Rokuro Fukuyama waited until the memorial service ended. Taking advantage of Kimie not returning yet, he went to the shrine alone wanting to hold the Elder hostage to find the location of the 'Mermaid's Grave', but discovered there was no Elder in the shrine, only a Saori who had been hiding for a long time."
"He killed Saori and set fire to the warehouse, wanting to destroy the corpse and traces. That charred corpse is undoubtedly Saori Kaori."
"And the only candidate who knew the 'Mermaid's Grave' was Miss Shimabukuro. Rokuro Fukuyama lured her to the mountain, repeating the old trick, wanting to hold her hostage and force out the whereabouts of the 'Mermaid's Grave', but was bumped into by me, and finally accidentally fell off the cliff. This is the whole process of this matter."
After listening to Yuu Hoshimiya's deduction, everyone couldn't help sighing.
This Rokuro Fukuyama was completely a demon-like character!
But Kimie couldn't help raising her head to look at Yuu Hoshimiya, her tearful eyes full of incomprehension.
Yuu Hoshimiya definitely knew all the truth, knew that Saori and the other two were killed by her.
But why did he specifically help her escape guilt now?