Kaivan raised a hand in welcome. "It's fine, Frans. Come sit. The more the merrier."
Frans hurried to pull out a chair for Tira. She sat slowly, her eyes studying the unfamiliar faces around the table. She leaned in close to Frans and whispered, "Who are they? I've never met them."
Frans gave a thin smile. "Raphael from Purwakarta. The one smoking is Ethan, from Cimahi. The girl on her phone is Isabel, from Bandung."
Tira nodded, then lifted her head politely. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Tira, Frans' girlfriend."
Raphael glanced over and nodded. "Nice to meet you, Tira."
Ethan, cigarette in hand, turned slightly. "Ethan. Nice to meet you too."
Isabel looked up from her phone. "Hi! I'm Tatjana Saphira," she said with a straight face, then burst into laughter.
The table erupted. Radit slapped his knee. "Honestly, you do look a bit like her!"
Isabel stuck out her tongue at him, making the atmosphere even lighter. Tira laughed as well, the unfamiliarity melting away piece by piece.
Food arrived soon after. The scent of fried rice and pasta filled the air. Conversations drifted smoothly, from personal stories to the grand plans ahead.
When only scraps of snacks remained, Kaivan suddenly spoke. "We need to stop this business."
Zinnia, energized all evening, immediately snapped her gaze toward him. "Why?"
"Raphael's right. People are starting to grow suspicious. If we keep going, we'll get ourselves into trouble."
Raphael nodded slowly, chewing a fry. "So, what's next?"
Kaivan paused, then turned to Frans. "Take Tira to the bar. Order her a drink. She's only been sipping water."
Frans understood instantly. Tira stood with him, glancing briefly at Kaivan, as though sensing something beneath the calm.
The moment they walked away, Kaivan pulled out the Tome Omnicent from his bag. He opened its shimmering pages, each one shifting as if alive. "No new instructions yet. All I know is that we need to gather as much gold as possible… and find the 'tenth person.'"
Ethan, who had been quiet for a while, leaned back and replied, "The one from outside the island, right? The Tome mentioned that."
The rooftop café's atmosphere changed as the television in the corner flickered to life, broadcasting the late-night news. A thick fog blanketed Mount Puntang on the screen, police lights dancing faintly in the darkness.
"Live from the Gunung Puntang region…" The news broadcast was suddenly cut by Raphael's whisper. Leaning forward with a cup of coffee whose steam had long vanished, he narrowed his eyes at the screen. "Strange…"
Kaivan lifted his gaze, the soft pulse of the Tome casting a faint glow across his face. Raphael continued, voice low and steady, "I'm certain… the police should've been after me because of what happened there. But… there's no report at all."
Felicia, sitting on Kaivan's right, slowly leaned in. Her hair fell like a curtain as she offered him a fry. "Maybe… someone cleaned up the bodies. But who?"
Her movements were smooth, controlled. Kaivan accepted the bite, eyes still fixed on the screen. A moment later, Thivi from the opposite side joined in, feeding him as well, her bright smile contrasting with the sharpness in her gaze. "Why isn't the incident at the Malabar Radio Station on the news?"
Kaivan swallowed softly and flipped a page of the Tome. "Maybe another Tome user. Someone who interfered and erased everything."
Radit, who had been watching the two girls flanking Kaivan, grinned wide. He leaned back and called out, "Wow, Kaivan's living the dream. Zinnia, feed me too!"
Zinnia sat at the end of the table, legs crossed, chin resting on her hand. She shot Radit a lazy glance from beneath her purple bangs. Her dark eyes were sharp enough to cut. "Why would I feed you?" she said coolly, biting her fry without a change in expression.
Soft laughter came from the other side. Isabel, still absorbed with her phone, twisted her body dramatically and held out a fry toward Radit. "Come on, handsome~ say ahhh~"
Radit, too used to this group's chaos, opened his mouth playfully. But the moment the fry touched his tongue, his whole face transformed. His eyes bulged. Sweat gathered on his temple. "WHAT IS THIS?! IT'S INSANELY SPICY!"
Isabel burst into wild laughter, nearly dropping her phone. "Hahaha! That's ghost pepper sauce! One piece isn't enough, you know!"
Laughter erupted. Thivi covered her mouth to hold back giggles, Felicia only smiled faintly as she sipped her drink. Kaivan shook his head, but his eyes remained clouded by unspoken worry.
Ethan, who sat alone near the railing, exhaled a trail of smoke toward the night sky. His voice cut through the noise, calm yet firm. "Alright, enough fooling around. We need to think about our next move."
Kaivan nodded. "Tomorrow, I have to find someone from outside that island," he said, locking eyes with Ethan.