4 A dedication. Part 4.

"Hello, you there?" Kon snapped his fingers, bringing Sany's mind back to the present. "Did you just fall asleep while sitting?"

"Ehh…" Sany muttered. "No I just remembered something. Anyway, are you going to return that toy to that man?"

"Hmm." Kon looked at the red parrot. "What do you want to do, Mr. Peru?"

"Hmm," Mr. Peru said, mimicking Kon. "I suppose we should…"

"Great!" Sany stood up.

"But," the little parrot said, "I have one condition."

"What is it?" Sany asked, cursing the creature in her mind.

"You will have to call me once by my complete name." Mr. Peru flapped his wings and sat on Kon's shoulder.

"Ehh…"

Kon laughed. "Well, that's not that difficult."

"O-okay," Sany said, "What was his name again?"

Kon smacked his lips. "Mr. Peru. Mr Peruapupapumpumperu."

"Mr. Peru," Sany said, "Peruapapa…"

"No! NO!" the red parrot hooted. "You said it wrong. It's Peruapupapumpumperu."

"Okay," Sany said and smiled kindly at the parrot. "By the way, who on this beautiful planet gave you that name?"

"He himself took up at the name," Kon said. "Mr. Peru is full of swag, isn't he?"

"Yes. Yes," Sany said, showering the little creature with a motherly smile. "He is indeed full of swag."

"Uh," the bird climbed off Kon's shoulder and hid behind his back, peeking at her warily. "I don't like the look she is giving me. You know what, we can make her say my complete name later. She looks tired to me. Tell her to go and rest."

"You are a smart bird," Sany said, "Okay, can I have that toy back, Kon?"

"No," Kon said. "I'll give this thing to him myself. I want to apologize."

"Oh, Okay. Then meet me tomorrow morning outside the inn's entrance gate. He is going to wait for me there."

Sany finally entered her room, took bath, and she was feeling so tired that she fell asleep as soon as her body hit the soft mattress on the bed. Next morning, she woke up late and found the room where Kon was staying locked from the outside.

"He left fifteen minutes ago," the old woman at the reception desk said. "And told me to tell you that he will be waiting for you outside."

Sany sighed in relief. "I thought he ran away."

"I don't get it," the old woman said.

"Don't get what?"

"Why someone like you is working with a guy like Romonov?"

"What do you mean?" Sany asked. "He is a businessman, isn't he?" Her eyes went wide. "Don't tell me… That's why you were giving me that funny look when I came in last night."

The old woman nodded. "He obviously lied to you. I knew it. He is a smuggler, and," she lowered her voice, "I don't have a proof, no one in this town has a proof, but we all know that he secretly works for Noire Grail."

"Noire Grail?" Sany muttered and started running toward the entrance.

"Hey, wait!" the old woman called after her. "You didn't return the key."

But Sany didn't stop. She hurried down the short flight of stairs and started looking around the small plaza. She spotted Kon. He was standing with Romonov and was about handover the toy to the short man.

Sany bolted toward them, grabbed the toy, and started tearing it apart.

"What are you doing?" Romonov screamed at the top of his voice.

Kon seemed surprised as well, but he didn't say anything.

"I knew she is crazy," Mr. Peru said, flapping his wings.

Sany continued ripping out cotton and then suddenly stopped. Her fingers had found something. In fact, it had found two things. She raised the two black-apple seeds and showed it to Romonov. "So, these were the things you hid in the toy after you ran into me."

Romonov started backing away from her. "You, bitch. I knew something like this would happen. BOYS."

Men, big and buffed up, armed with bats and other weapons, started filing into the plaza. Civilians began shuffling back into their houses and closing their windows.

"So you came prepared?" Sany said.

"Obviously I did," Romonov said, still backing away. "After all I'm dealing with a black-apple user."

The men had surrounded them.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of them," Kon said, flexing his fists. But Sany kept her hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you, but I can take care of them myself," she said, producing her violin bow.

A few of the men chortled at her.

"What are you going to do with that? Play music?" one of the men said while he howled with laughter.

"You will see that soon," Sany said.

"Don't get cocky, girl," the other guy said, while he swung his metal pipe. "We are here to beat up that black-apple guy."

"Sorry to break this news to you," Sany said and held her violin bow in a way one would hold a sword. "If you want to touch that black-apple user, you'll first have to go through this black-apple user."

And as she said it, the day she became a black-apple user came back to her.