They continued their serious conversation, unaware that a pair of Golek Setan—Srikandi and Arjuna—were watching them from a tree branch above, perched on the trunk of the tree sheltering them.
The pair of Golek Setan appeared to be clinging to the large tree trunk, their presence there unknown to anyone.
It turned out Syafir's feeling had been right all along. He had sensed that the two of them were being watched, even though he had no idea by whom or where they were. What they were dealing with were supernatural beings who had no desire to reveal themselves to the eyes of mortal humans like Syafir and Pio.
"It looks like they're trying to investigate us ..." said Golek Setan Arjuna telepathically to Golek Setan Srikandi.
"But I don't think they'll have much luck finding out anything about us," replied Golek Setan Srikandi through telepathy as well.
"Either way, we have to report this to the Golek Goddess."
"That's why we have to leave this place and report it to the Golek Goddess right now."
"All right, let's go," Golek Setan Arjuna answered. He then slipped into the trunk of the large tree, followed by Golek Setan Srikandi. They left the place without a trace.
"It feels like someone's watching us," Syafir finally said, voicing what had been bothering him. He looked up, observing the area above the tree, where the pair of Golek Setan had just left.
"It's probably just your imagination ..." Pio said, studying the large tree as well.
"Yeah, it's probably just my imagination." Syafir lowered his gaze again, back to where it had been before. Pio did the same.
Syafir had said that because he couldn't be bothered to argue with his friend.
After lowering their gazes from the treetop, they happened to notice Srikandi sitting on another bench, talking to Sandy, who was known around campus as a materialistic playboy.
"Fir, isn't that Srikandi and Sandy?" Pio asked, pointing toward the two of them as they spoke with serious expressions.
Syafir looked in the direction Pio was pointing. He saw Srikandi, the girl he adored, talking to Sandy.
A flicker of jealousy stirred in his chest as he watched Sandy seemingly flirt with Srikandi. But Syafir quickly realized that he had no right to feel jealous over her. He and Srikandi weren't officially involved.
"You're right, but what do you think they're talking about?" Syafir said, intensely curious about the two of them.
"I have no idea ..." Pio replied, raising both hands.
"Now I'm curious," Syafir said coldly.
"Curious, or jealous?" Pio teased, smiling sideways at Syafir.
"BOTH," Syafir snapped.
After talking with Srikandi for quite some time, Sandy finally left her with a small smile playing on his lips. He had succeeded in getting close to Srikandi, who was known for being cold toward men.
"Fir, Sandy's leaving. We should go talk to him now," Pio said, watching Sandy walk away with a strange look in his eyes, as though he wanted to investigate him.
"What for?" Syafir asked innocently.
"To investigate him, of course," Pio replied firmly.
"But this isn't how we investigate someone. We have to do it secretly."
"This is only the beginning of our investigation." Pio rose from his seat and started walking toward Srikandi.
"Suit yourself, Detective-obsessed," Syafir replied, following behind him.
It didn't take long for Pio to reach Srikandi. She stared at him in bewilderment at the sight of Pio and Syafir standing before her.
Srikandi remained silent, not saying a word to greet her two friends. Finally, Pio spoke up to start the conversation.
"How are you, Srikandi?" Pio greeted her gently, smiling at her.
Srikandi didn't return his smile. She didn't really know Pio or Syafir. Still, even though she didn't smile back, she answered Pio's question.
"I'm fine," Srikandi replied flatly.
"Do you know the two of us?" Pio asked again, while Syafir remained silent and awkward beside him.
Srikandi appeared to think for a moment as she tried to recognize them. At last, she managed to place them, though it took her quite a while.
"You're Pio, and you're Syafir?" Srikandi said, pointing at Pio and Syafir in turn.
"Yes, I'm Pio, and this is Syafir," Pio replied, pointing to Syafir beside him.
"So why did you come to see me?" Srikandi asked, her voice full of suspicion.
"We just want to know why Sandy came to see you. Why was he smiling when he left you?" Srikandi paused to think before answering Pio's question. At last, she gave him her answer.
"Oh, you mean Sandy? He just wanted to ask me out tonight, but I turned him down. Then he said he wanted to come over to my house. He claimed he already knew where I lived. Whether that's true or not, I have no idea." Srikandi then stood up, intending to leave them. But Pio stopped her, pressing her with another question.
"What about Ari and Andra? Did either of them ever come to your house?" Pio asked, sounding as though he was directly accusing Srikandi of being responsible for Ari and Andra's disappearance. Srikandi understood that Pio suspected her and was investigating her.