The kitchen was quiet.
Only the soft bubbling of the soup could be heard.
Vash stood beside the stove, watching carefully.
Golden Chicken Soup.
He had been practicing it for several days now.
At first, he had struggled with the timing.
Then the temperature.
Then the balance of the ingredients.
But each mistake had taught him something.
Today, he wasn't following Grandma's instructions word for word.
He was cooking from understanding.
Grandma stood a few steps away, watching silently.
Vash adjusted the flame.
Waited.
Added the next ingredient.
Then waited again.
He didn't rush.
He didn't constantly look at the System.
He trusted what he had learned.
After some time, he turned off the stove.
"Grandma."
She walked over.
Vash placed a bowl of soup on the table.
"Try it."
Grandma picked up the spoon.
She tasted it.
Vash waited.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Grandma took another spoonful.
This time, she smiled.
"Good."
Vash let out a breath.
"Actually good?"
"Yes."
His face brightened.
Grandma nodded toward the bowl.
"You didn't ask me what to do even once."
Vash smiled.
"I remembered your lessons."
"No."
Grandma shook her head.
"You understood them."
That sentence stayed with Vash.
He looked at the soup.
Maybe that was the difference between knowing a recipe and mastering it.
The System appeared.
[ORDINARY SYSTEM]
[Recipe Analysis Complete]
[Recipe: Golden Chicken Soup]
[Understanding: 100%]
[Mastery: 100%]
Vash's eyes widened.
A second notification appeared.
[OBJECTIVE COMPLETED]
Objective: Learn Golden Chicken Soup
Reward: +10 System Points
[System Points: 60 → 70 / 100]
Vash smiled.
Seventy.
He was getting closer.
Only thirty points remained.
But he didn't celebrate too much.
He had learned that System Points were something to earn, not something to chase blindly.
He closed the notification.
Grandma was already putting away the ingredients.
"What's next?" Vash asked.
Grandma looked at him.
"Cleaning."
Vash's smile disappeared.
"...Of course."
Grandma laughed.
---
A few days later, Vash sat in his classroom.
The teacher stood at the front with a notebook in his hand.
"Everyone, take out your notebooks."
The classroom became quiet.
The teacher wrote the homework on the board.
"Copy this down."
Pens began moving across pages.
Vash carefully copied everything.
Then the teacher added another instruction.
"And remember, the detailed instructions and reference material have been shared in the class WhatsApp group."
Several students nodded.
The teacher continued.
"You don't need to bring your phones to school. In fact, you shouldn't. Smartphones are not allowed in school."
A few students exchanged glances.
"Write the work in your notebooks at home and bring it tomorrow. I'll check everyone's work."
Vash wrote down the assignment.
That part was fine.
He could copy the questions from the board.
But then the teacher added:
"Those who have not completed the assignment tomorrow will have to stand outside the classroom until I finish checking the notebooks."
Vash looked at his notebook.
The instructions are in the group.
He stared at the words for a moment.
He wasn't in the group.
He didn't have a smartphone.
For the first time, he realized that this wasn't going to be as simple as copying the homework from the board.
---
The next day, notebooks began appearing on the teacher's desk.
One student after another.
"Done, sir."
"Good."
The teacher checked each notebook.
Vash sat quietly.
His notebook was mostly empty.
He had written the questions.
But he hadn't completed the assignment.
The teacher reached his desk.
"Vash."
Vash stood.
"Yes, sir."
"Your homework?"
Vash looked down.
"I couldn't complete it."
The teacher frowned.
"Why?"
Vash hesitated.
He didn't want to make excuses.
"I didn't have the instructions."
"They were sent to the class group."
Vash nodded.
"I know."
"Then why didn't you check them?"
Vash took a breath.
"Because... I don't have a smartphone."
The teacher paused.
"What?"
"I don't have one, sir."
The classroom became unusually quiet.
A few students looked toward Vash.
The teacher's expression changed.
"You're not in the WhatsApp group?"
"No, sir."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Vash didn't know what to say.
"I thought I could manage without it."
The teacher looked at the incomplete notebook.
Then at Vash.
"Stand outside for now."
Vash nodded.
"Yes, sir."
He picked up his notebook and walked out.
---
The corridor was quiet.
Vash stood beside the classroom door.
He wasn't angry.
He understood the rule.
He hadn't completed the homework.
But something still bothered him.
I didn't even have a way to see the instructions.
After several minutes, the classroom door opened.
The teacher stepped outside.
"Vash."
Vash turned.
"Yes, sir?"
"Come inside."
Vash followed him.
The teacher sat at his desk.
"Why don't you have a smartphone?"
Vash answered honestly.
"My grandparents don't have one for me."
"Do you have a computer at home?"
"No."
The teacher sighed quietly.
He looked at Vash's notebook.
"Things are changing, Vash."
Vash listened.
"Schoolwork isn't completely digital yet, but more material is being shared online. Notices, reference material, assignments..."
He paused.
"You don't need an expensive phone. But you do need some way to access these things."
Vash nodded.
"I understand."
The teacher picked up his phone.
"I'm going to speak with your grandparents."
Vash immediately looked worried.
"Sir, please don't trouble them."
"I'm not trying to trouble them."
The teacher gave him a calm look.
"I'm trying to make sure you don't fall behind because you lack access to something as basic as study material."
Vash didn't know how to respond.
He simply nodded.
---
That evening, Grandpa was counting the day's earnings when the phone rang.
He answered.
"Hello?"
It was Vash's teacher.
Grandpa listened carefully.
His expression slowly became serious.
Grandma looked over from the kitchen.
"What happened?"
Grandpa covered the phone for a moment.
"It's Vash's teacher."
Grandma immediately stopped what she was doing.
"Is Vash okay?"
Grandpa nodded.
"He's fine."
He returned to the call.
The teacher explained what had happened.
He didn't complain about Vash.
Instead, he explained that more school materials were being shared digitally and that Vash needed regular access to them.
After a few minutes, the call ended.
Grandpa placed the phone down.
Grandma looked at him.
"We need to get him a smartphone."
Grandpa nodded.
"I was thinking the same thing."
Vash, who had been sitting nearby, immediately looked up.
"No."
Both grandparents turned toward him.
Vash shook his head.
"Don't buy one."
Grandpa raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Because of the restaurant."
He looked around the small room behind the restaurant.
"You both worked too hard for this money."
Grandma smiled softly.
"Vash."
"I can manage somehow."
Grandpa shook his head.
"No."
Vash fell silent.
Grandpa continued.
"Money saved for the family is meant for the family."
"But—"
"And your education is part of that."
Vash didn't answer.
Grandpa leaned back in his chair.
"We'll look for something suitable."
Vash still wasn't convinced.
He didn't want an expensive phone.
He didn't want his grandparents sacrificing more for him.
But he also understood something.
The world around him was changing.
And school was changing with it.
He had spent two years asleep.
Now, even catching up with school meant catching up with technology.
Vash looked down at his hands.
Maybe I really do need one.
For now, however, there was no System notification.
No mission.
No reward.
Just a simple problem from ordinary life.
And somehow, Vash knew this problem was only the beginning.