The restaurant remained unusually quiet after the three men left. Vash continued staring at the door for a few seconds, his mind still replaying the information the system had shown him. The strongest of the three men had a Strength of 7.5 out of 10, and the system had classified him as a high threat. Vash had never been the kind of person to judge someone simply by appearance, but this time his instincts were telling him that those three men were dangerous.
He turned toward his grandfather, who had already begun collecting the empty bowls from their table. "Grandpa... who were those people?" Vash asked.
His grandfather didn't answer immediately. He carried the dishes toward the kitchen before finally saying, "They're from a local gang."
Vash's expression changed. "A gang?"
Grandpa nodded quietly. "They've been causing trouble around this neighborhood for a while. Small businesses, restaurants, shops... they pressure people for money."
Vash immediately frowned. "Then call the police."
Grandpa stopped walking.
For a moment, he simply stood there with the dishes in his hands. Then he slowly shook his head. "No."
Vash couldn't understand the answer. "Why not? They threatened you. They came into our restaurant and threatened us."
"It's not that simple," Grandpa replied.
"How is it not simple?" Vash asked. "If they're criminals, the police should deal with them."
Grandpa placed the dishes down and looked at him. His expression wasn't angry. It was tired. "You're thinking about what should happen. I'm thinking about what could happen afterward."
Vash remained silent.
Grandpa continued, "They know where this restaurant is. They know where we live. They know about our daily routine. If we report them, the police may deal with them, but we don't know what those people will do afterward."
Vash clenched his hands. "So we're supposed to let them threaten us?"
"No," Grandpa said quietly. "I'm trying to keep this family safe."
Vash wanted to argue, but his grandfather's expression stopped him. After everything Vash had already gone through, Grandpa clearly wasn't willing to take another unnecessary risk.
After a moment, Vash asked, "Then what are you going to do?"
Grandpa sighed. "I'll give them the money."
Vash's eyes widened. "You're actually going to pay them?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
When Grandpa told him the amount, Vash's expression immediately became serious. It wasn't a small amount. Paying it once would already hurt the restaurant, but the gang wasn't asking for a single payment. They expected the money regularly.
"Grandpa, that's too much," Vash said. "The restaurant already has so many expenses."
"I know."
"Then why give it to them?"
Grandpa looked toward the kitchen. Grandma was still working there, unaware of the conversation. "Because I don't want anything happening to your grandmother."
He paused and then looked at Vash. "Or you."
Vash became quiet.
He understood his grandfather's decision, but he didn't like it. Not even a little.
The restaurant already had to pay for ingredients, supplies, rent, and everything else required to keep a small business running. Now another expense had been added, one that gave them nothing in return.
Vash looked around the restaurant.
This wasn't simply a place where his grandparents worked. It was their livelihood.
If the payments continued, the restaurant would slowly lose money. And if the restaurant lost enough money, eventually there might not be anything left to protect.
A thought suddenly crossed Vash's mind.
This isn't only a safety problem.
It's a business problem.
The moment he realized that, the system responded.
[Business Sense — Beginner]
Potential Business Problem Detected.
Threat to Business Stability: High
Vash stared at the interface for a moment before closing it.
His grandfather hadn't noticed anything.
Vash looked back toward the entrance. The three men were already gone, but their presence still seemed to linger inside the restaurant.
He wasn't strong enough to fight them.
He couldn't simply force his grandfather to call the police.
And he couldn't allow the restaurant to keep losing money forever.
There had to be another way.
Grandpa placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about this, Vash. I'll handle it."
Vash looked up at him and nodded. "Okay."
But deep down, he knew he couldn't simply forget about it.
That evening, after the restaurant closed, Vash sat alone at one of the tables with his notebook in front of him. He opened to a clean page and wrote a heading.
Grandpa's Noodles — Problems
Underneath it, he wrote the first problem.
1. Gang Payment
He stared at the words for a moment before adding another.
2. Business Expenses
Then, after thinking carefully, he wrote a third.
3. Increase Profit
Vash leaned back and looked at the three points.
He didn't have a solution yet.
But for the first time, he wasn't thinking about how to fight the gang.
He was thinking about how to make their threat less powerful.
If the gang was taking money from the restaurant, then Vash needed to find a way to make the restaurant earn more.
His eyes became focused.
He might not be able to solve the problem with strength.
But perhaps he could solve it with something else.
Business.