As usual, the first thing I did after returning to Schale was head straight for the Angel 24 convenience store.
My stomach was already growling, and I needed one of the delicious boxed meals that Sora warmed up in the microwave with her own hands. Only that could give me enough energy to recover my strength.
On the way back, I also took a moment to contact Shiroko and Hoshino. I learned that the two of them had already returned to Abydos at noon and had no intention of staying overnight in Schale.
I still remember that moment. I had subconsciously pressed my faintly sore lower back and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Anyway, since those two were not here, I only needed to buy one boxed meal for dinner.
But to reward myself after working through an entire night and then diving straight into another full day of work, I decided to splurge a little and buy two.
By the time I reached the automatic doors of the convenience store, I had already decided how I would greet Sora when I saw her.
But the moment I stepped inside and opened my mouth to speak, the words I had prepared were stuck in my throat. The natural smile on my face faded into something heavier.
Sora, who had been looking down at her phone, froze when she realized it was me. Her reaction was far more flustered than usual. "Ah, Sensei, good evening…"
I did not return her greeting or say anything of the sort.
Instead, I walked quickly to the counter, suppressing the anger rising within me and speaking only with the gentlest concern.
"Sora, did something happen?"
"Ah… n no, um… nothing happened…"
It was a lie. A clumsy, painfully obvious lie.
Looking at her swollen, reddened eyes, clearly from crying, I took a deep breath and struggled to keep my composure.
"Then, Sora, where is the phone I gave you?"
"I i it just ran out of battery… so, um, I put it away for now…"
The timid part time girl instinctively tried to hide the old button phone she had been using. She also tried to force a smile, but the moment the corners of her lips lifted, tears spilled again from her pale blue eyes and fell onto the countertop.
I hurriedly took out my handkerchief and gently wiped her tears as she trembled. Sora could no longer hold back and apologized between sobs.
"I… I'm sorry… Sensei… I… I broke the phone you gave me… the present you gave me… I'm sorry… I'm really sorry…"
I blinked. That was it?
I had assumed she had been bullied by delinquents nearby.
No, I should not think like that.
I suddenly realized something. To me, a broken phone was a trivial matter. I could just buy another one. There was no reason for her to be this sad. But that was only from my perspective.
For Sora, whose life was already difficult… yes, she had already realized it. What I said before had only been an excuse to make her feel comfortable accepting it. The secondhand smartphone had been a present I chose specifically for her.
Frustration. Unease. Guilt. Yet also relief and fondness.
I waited patiently until her crying eased before I finally spoke.
"Actually, I wanted you to notice."
"…Huh?"
"Because from the very first time I saw you, I thought you were adorable and wanted to be your friend. But Sora, you were always guarded around me, weren't you?
"So I thought up a reason that would let me give you a present openly. Then I left a tiny little hint on purpose. I figured that someone as bright and quick witted as you would fall right into the trap I had set."
I sighed and pretended to be troubled. "But I never imagined that everything would go smoothly until the last step, and then my perfect plan to become friends with you would fail. How frustrating. I'm really not satisfied with this outcome."
Sora stared at me blankly as I smiled and said, "Anyway, let's just say you got lucky this time."
After a long pause, the girl suddenly let out a tearful laugh. Her face turned red as she lowered her head and whispered as quietly as a mosquito.
"Sensei… you really are… too sneaky…"
I finally let out a relieved breath. Honestly, I was terrible at comforting girls.
If it had not been for a moment of desperate inspiration, and if I had not been willing to expose myself a little, I would not have managed to lessen her sadness. I had no idea whether this would make her like me even less or be even more wary of me.
But at the very least, she had smiled. That was enough.
"Sora, can you show me how the phone broke?"
If the issue was minor, maybe I could get it repaired somewhere. Buying a new one was also possible, but the first present held more meaning. That was how I felt.
"Okay." Sora nodded obediently. She took out the nearly new smartphone from her pocket and handed it to me, still sounding a little upset. "I was just browsing a forum, and it suddenly went black. The battery still had plenty left… and after that it just wouldn't turn on…"
I pressed the power button and looked at the screen for a moment as I listened to her explanation. Then I asked seriously:
"Sora, after you got the phone, did you connect it to your bank card or student ID?"
"Ah, not yet…"
I nodded. "Good. In that case, I'll take the phone for now and ask a shop if it can be repaired."
"Eh, okay. Sorry for troubling you, Sensei. What would you like to buy today? Let me get it for you."
Before long, with Sora's earnest help, I left the store carrying two freshly heated boxed meals and returned to the Schale office area.
I took out the phone I had given her once more. Looking at the text displayed on the screen, my expression shifted.
I supposed it was fortunate that she had not seen this.
Quietly relieved, I used my own phone to call a certain number.
"Hello? Kanna, it's me. Sorry to bother you so late. It's nothing urgent, I just want to ask you something."
Staring at the threat message on the broken phone's screen, the one demanding a transfer to a certain bank account or else all personal data on the device would be leaked, I asked:
"What's the threshold for filing a telecom extortion case? Yeah. I see. Thanks."
The answer I got from Kanna was disappointing, but it made sense. The amount of money involved was too small.
In short, Sora's phone had been infected with a Trojan virus, and the hacker controlling it was threatening to leak personal information unless the owner paid an amount that was conveniently just below the threshold for opening a case.
Which meant…
The one who made Sora cry… was right here.
Realizing this, I did not feel anger. Quite the opposite. My heart was calm.
Since that was the case, there was only one thing left to do.
"Hey, Utaha." I called the Millennium Engineering Department Head and got straight to the point. "Can you ask your school's Veritas for an introduction?"
Looks like I would be working overtime tonight.