Salvation often comes to us in unexpected ways. For Akira Kurusu, to name an example, salvation came in the shape of a somewhat peculiar woman.

Wearing a beanie, big round glasses, some stripes of white adorning her raven black hair, twin braids and a broad smile on her face, the woman presented herself as the most uncanny source of help the young thief had ever seen.

"Couldn't help but hear about your phone troubles." She explained. "Also the fact that you were furiously pacing around in this underground mall whilst muttering to yourself gave you away pretty easily."

Akira blinked, flabbergasted by the sudden appearance and the explanation given. He opened his mouth to mutter a response, but she interrupted again.

"I can help you. No problem." Another smile. "Oh, I'm Grace, by the way."

Ah, finally a name. Now the thing was progressing.

"Grace…-san." the teenager muttered. "It's extremely kind of you, but I don't think I can impose my problems onto you"

"Pssh, nonsense" The black haired woman replied. "You look like you really need a hand, and believe me, I can help you. Besides something tells me you're reaching your wits end."

Akira took a deep breath. She wasn't wrong, at all. He had spent all afternoon and the day before that trying to find a repair service that could actually repair his phone.

So far? Not one bit of luck.

The worst thing about the whole ordeal wasn't the phone itself, for Akira could live without it affecting most of his life. The real problem was the MetaNav app, the only thing in the world (As far as he knew, for Mona was an exceptional case) that allowed him to explore the Metaverse. And that meant only one thing: Without the MetaNav, exploring palaces and stealing treasures was a no-no.

"If you're absolutely sure I'm not bothering you" Akira finally said handing her the phone. "Then please, by all means."

Grace took the phone from his hands and gave it a quick glance. "Great, now, let's find somewhere to sit so I can take care of your little problem."

A few minutes later Akira found himself seated in a bench alongside his impromptu savior that was now glued to a small laptop procured from a bag she was carrying. Her nimble fingers soared through the keyboard in seemingly erratic notions, whilst the young thief passed the time looking at the people in the underground mall.

"So, buying another phone was out of the question?" The older woman inquired without even lifting her gaze from the screen.

"Oh, yes, I mean, it's not like a student has that much these days." Akira shuffled his disheveled hair a little. "And even less someone like me."

He felt a little sting in his heart for the lie. In another time, that statement might have been correct, but the truth was, in fact, that he could've bought another phone, an even better, more expensive phone thanks to the treasures in the palaces and the "loot" shadows had with them for seemingly no good reason other than money being part of the modern human subconscious.

The tapping slowed a little. "Don't worry, I understand the feeling. Luckily, phones nowadays are not so hard to fix." Grace gave him a smug smile, eyes gleaming with purpose. "I've never lost a fight in the tech department, and I really doubt this is going to be my first. Scratch that, I don't want this to be my first defeat. I refuse, totally refuse."

Her confidence, paired with an uncanny speed and knowledge made Akira sigh with some relief. If by some chance his phone was dead for good, or in the even worse case that the MetaNav App never installed itself again in a new phone… The sole thought made him shiver in fear. Even more with a deadline coming soon.

Grace finally stopped the tapping and carefully disconnected the phone from her Laptop. She balanced the small object between her fingers and pressed the power button.

One. Two. Three. Four. The seconds passed like knives on Akira's back.

"Ah, there we go." Grace exclaimed, visibly excited as the screen lightened up again. "A tough little devil, eh?"

She carefully handed the phone back to Akira. The teenager accepted the device with newfound relief and without losing a moment, unlocked its screen. A quick glance at the apps revealed that the MetaNav didn't suffer any change or deletion whatsoever.

An audible sigh escaped his lips. "Grace-san, thank you. Really." Akira inclined his head a bit, as a heartfelt gesture of gratitude. "I don't know what would've happened if you haven't appeared today."

The raven haired woman fixed her glasses and gave him another of her smug smiles. "Aww, C'mon, it's not that amazing" She shuffled her braids a little. "Just a little tinkering and good as new."

Akira browsed his contacts, there were none missing. "No, Really, it's amazing. No one had been able to help me, and to be honest, I was just about to give up."

Grace slowly packed her Laptop back into her bag and got up from the bench. "Well then, I'll take by your compliments that your phone is back to optimal functioning." She smiled. "If so, it means my work here is done. I think that's my call to leave."

The young man quickly put the phone in his pocket. "Oh, but, let me thank you for your kindness, Grace-san."

The woman shook her head a little bit. "No need, kiddo. I was just doing what I felt like doing. You needed help and I was able to provide it. No strings attached, no compensation needed." Grace turned around and started to walk away from her temporary acquaintance. "Goodbye, kid."

As the peculiar woman walked away from him at a somewhat slow pace, the young rogue felt somewhat disheartened that such a kind person had to leave so soon after literally saving his life. Even if there were people who did good deeds just because of their nature, Akira thought someone like Grace needed a little compensation for taking the time to help people like him: Just at the verge of losing it all.

Suddenly, Grace stopped on her tracks and walked back to where Akira was standing.

"But, if you really feel the need to repay the favor." she said, getting a piece of paper from one of her pockets. "You can call me. Only if your phone breaks again though. I'm extremely proud of my job, and if somehow, your phone were to malfunction again… Well, that would leave me very disappointed with myself. How does that sound?"

Akira smiled. "It's perfect. You're amazing, Grace-san."

Grace handed over the paper, and with a small wave of her hand, she to proceeded to exit the mall, leaving the young man standing alone.

"Well, you don't get that kind of help everyday, isn't it, Joker?" Mona purred through a small gap in his bag.

Akira took his time eyeing the number written in the slip of paper and quickly saved the number in his contacts.

"I think this is, what do you call it? A 'Stroke of Luck'?" The teenager inquired to his feline friend. "Anyway, we need to get back on track. There's a Treasure that needs to be stolen."

Mona gave him a purring sound of approval and both walked away from the underground mall

"Just one more thing, Joker. She never asked for your name, didn't she?"

Whoops.