"But?" Arya asked curiously.
"However, the person who kidnapped one of our residents was Gento Ireng, his subordinate."
Arya was shocked again for a moment.
He just kept quiet, not knowing what he should do.
Occasionally, he directed his gaze towards the skull and then to the group of Sedayu Village residents who were lined up irregularly in front of him.
After pondering for a moment and not finding a solution, the sudden incident, Arya then stepped closer to the group of Sedayu Village residents.
"I did hear the sound of bushes and small wood being pushed apart and broken and then a bang in the middle of the hole," said Arya frankly, "but , I did not see clearly the origin of the voice. At this time, I myself cannot help all of the Kisanaks to free one of the kidnapped residents. Because it is dangerous, it would be better if the Kisanaks allow me to meet with the Head of Sedayu Village. Thus, we can discuss this before taking action,” said Arya Mandu to the villagers.
Hearing Arya’s reasonable explanation, the villagers fell silent, until finally one of the old men spoke up.
“Okay Kisanak, come with us. We will take you to meet Ki Darmo, the Head of Sedayu Village."
"Oh yes, before that, who is Kisanak and where are you going?" asked one of the curious young men to Arya.
"My name is Arya Mandu, I come from Mount Sumbing. Regarding going to where I myself can't be sure because I am a wanderer," Arya replied.
"Oh, my name is Tarno. Come on Arya, we'll take you to meet our village head," said one of the residents of Sedayu Village named Tarno.
"Come on," Arya said following Tarno and the other residents.
A fairly large house with plank walls and a roof made of clay tiles, with a large yard and a pavilion in front of the house with bamboo woven walls and a leaf roof on the left and right sides.
A middle-aged man appeared outside After Tarno, who had led the villagers, knocked on the door, Arya stood with the other residents of Sedayu Village in the yard. The middle-aged man seemed surprised to see dozens of his citizens gathered in his yard, it seemed he did not know about the kidnapping of one of his citizens by Gento Ireng, the subordinate of the White Crocodile Ghost Queen.
"What's going on, Tarno? Why did you and the citizens come to my house? ?” asked the middle-aged man.
“Forgive us Ki, we didn’t immediately tell Ki Darmo that one of the villagers had been kidnapped by Gento Ireng. We immediately chased him to the depths of his skull.” Tarno reported.
“What?! Wrong Another of our citizens was kidnapped by Gento Ireng? Bastard..! The White Crocodile Demon Queen is really too much, we have to fight back because several of our citizens have become her victims.” Ki Darmo looked furious, then approached the citizens who were still standing in the yard.
In addition to being appointed as the village head, Ki Darmo is also a figure who is highly respected by his residents. As soon as Ki Darmo arrived in front of the residents, they all greeted him by bowing their bodies, as did Arya who reflexively followed the movements of the residents of Sedayu Village.At first, Ki Darmo did not feel strange when standing in front of his people in his yard, but when his gaze fell on Arya, Ki Darmo's forehead looked wrinkled because he frowned full of questions.
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"Excuse me, Kisanak, this is not a resident of Sedayu Village, right? Because I have never seen Kisanak before?” Ki Darmo immediately asked a question.
“I’m sorry Ki, I’m not part of the Sedayu Village community. My name is Arya Mandu, I come from Mount Sumbing,” Arya replied respectfully.
“Then why is Arya suddenly here with the villagers?” he asked, squinting. He was suspicious of Arya’s presence which was too coincidental.
Arya understood it. Respectfully, he explained to the Sedayu Village elder. “When one of the villagers was kidnapped, I met the villagers on the riverbank. Coincidentally, I also heard a strange sound from the cliff and then in the middle of the pool in the river,” Arya explained.
Seeing Arya who looked honest, Ki Darmo fell silent. Not long after, he nodded. “That’s how it happened. If so, let’s talk, Arya, in the pavilion,” said Ki Darmo, who called Arya Nak.
This was because the head of Sedayu Village suspected that Arya’s age was not much different from his daughter’s age, Intan.
Not long after, they arrived at a pavilion in front of Ki Darmo’s house.
The size is approximately 5 x 6 meters, large enough to accommodate most of the residents who come to sit cross-legged in it.
Arya then sat next to Ki Darmo and Tarno, while most of the residents who also came into the pavilion sat in a row in front of them.
The remaining ones finally stood in front of the pavilion.
"As usual, what we do when there is a problem or anything concerning the residents of Sedayu Village, we discuss it here to find a solution or a way out," Ki Darmo began their conversation in the pavilion in front of his house.
"That's right Ki, this time we will discuss how to overcome the residents' concerns over the kidnapping again by Gento Ireng, one of our residents," said Tarno.
"We have previously carried out night patrols in turns, but were unsuccessful in catching Gento Ireng because he acted this time during the day when most of our residents were in the rice fields and fields," said Ki Darmo.
"Then what should we do Ki to prevent a similar incident from happening again? While none of us are able to follow the kidnapped villagers into the depths of the skull,” Tarno asked again on behalf of the villagers.
“Let alone following them there, we are not sure we can even surround Gento Ireng in this village area. His martial arts are quite advanced, let alone the White Crocodile Queen,” said Ki Darmo.
Arya, who was sitting next to Ki Darmo, had so far only heard the conversation between Ki Darmo and Tarno in the pavilion. He did not want to be presumptuous in joining in before Ki Darmo asked him to.
For a moment, Ki Darmo, Tarno, and the villagers who were sitting and standing in front of the pavilion were silent.
However, Ki Darmo suddenly turned to Arya. He was curious about the young man beside him who seemed to have great strength in his young body. “Son Arya, what do you think we should do to prevent a similar incident from happening again?”