7 Flowers (2)

"That's perfect, the universe is on my side, as I am the teacher of a talented young man, and I came here to find a place for him," said the man. He wore a black *hanfu* with two red ribbons wrapped around his waist, and on his right shoulder was the wooden crest of the Black Rose clan.

'An unofficial clan... Where did they get enough money to hire a teacher like that?' the woman thought, observing Noah's sharp gaze fixed on the man's crest before he turned to go to his room. 'Ohh, so there's something interesting here?'

"I understand, I understand. But from what I see, you must be looking for an expensive room, which, unfortunately, isn't one of the options I have available," was the last thing Noah heard the woman say before going back upstairs to his room.

On the way to his room, Noah couldn't stop thinking about the Black Rose crest. That name was tied to his future, something that made him uneasy. When he reached the middle of the second floor, a name surfaced in his mind: "Louchi." 'So that's why I had to come to this place,' he thought.

"If it's really him, I'll have to keep an eye on him," he murmured to himself before continuing toward his room.

The rest of the night passed without major incidents, and soon dawn arrived. The woman from the counter stood in front of Noah's door, knocking gently while holding a small tray with his breakfast.

"Kid, hey kid, it's time for you to wake up," the woman called, waiting a few seconds without receiving a response. The moment she placed her hand on the door handle, she heard Noah stir. "Surprising," she commented, intrigued.

She let a small amount of her internal energy cover the handle and managed to open the door, stepping inside. "So, you were already awake? You should have answered me," said the woman, leaning forward until her head was level with Noah's. With a smile, she showed him the day's breakfast. "Eat before it gets cold."

"Hmm... Thank you," Noah replied, taking the tray. His gaze was drawn to her hands, especially the left one, where beneath her thumb the skin had a slightly greenish tint, as if poisoned. 'Could it have been the guy from yesterday?' he thought.

The woman returned to her normal posture, smoothing the area that had caught Noah's attention with her finger. "I hope you enjoy it. Tomorrow's will be even better," she said as she stepped back.

'Ah, so she noticed... Damn it,' Noah thought, closing and locking the door behind her.

A few hours passed, and Noah was reading the skills book, leaning against the wall and lightly tapping his thumb on one of the pages.

"Ahhh," a scream echoed down the hallway, followed by a crash that made the walls shake, but Noah, ignoring it, continued reading his book. The noises persisted, until a familiar voice reached his ears—a voice he recognized, or rather, one that closely resembled Louchi's.

'Look at that, seems like a good opportunity to earn his trust has appeared,' Noah thought, a smile forming on his lips as he closed the book.

Standing up quickly, Noah headed for the door, opening it at the exact moment a green-haired boy flew past him.

"You bastard! I'm not giving up my room to you! What makes you think you have that right?" shouted the green-haired boy, his head bleeding, as he struggled to get up.

"There are no more rooms, and I need to sleep, so just leave, okay?" replied a boy slightly taller than Noah, wearing a blue tunic with white details. "After all, you accepted the challenge."

"Accepted? What are you talking about? You just..." The green-haired boy was interrupted by the sound of a yawn.

"What the hell is this? Don't you guys know there are other people here? If you're going to keep up this little lover's quarrel, you should take it outside," Noah said in a mocking tone, cleaning his ear as if bored. "Honestly, that woman told me this would be the best place to rest, and now I have to deal with two kids whining for attention."

"Huh?" The green-haired boy looked at Noah, incredulous. "Are you blind or what? Can't you see this idiot threw me out of my room?"

The boy in the tunic, now standing in front of Noah and the other, shrugged and replied disdainfully, "I don't know what you're talking about. Your door was open, and I proposed a bet for the room. I won."

"Do you see this? This guy doesn't have a single brain cell," the green-haired boy retorted, pointing at his opponent.

Noah let out an exasperated sigh, crossing his arms while thinking to himself, 'There's no way this is Louchi. The voice is similar, but he's a complete idiot.'

While Noah remained silent, the two continued arguing until the boy in the tunic began slamming the other's head against the wooden floor with force. Noah just shook his head and turned his back, saying, "Just don't make too much noise, or I'll make sure both of you get kicked out of here."

As he was about to close the door, he heard the sound of the floor cracking, followed by the tunic-wearing boy's voice: "Hey, you there, your body is amazing!"

Noah's door clicked shut, and he stood still for a moment, perplexed. Outside, the tunic-wearing boy, now confused, tilted his head to the side while sitting on the green-haired boy's back, who was unconscious. "Did I say it at the wrong time again?"

'This guy has the face and voice, but no way is he the same person. Could he be his twin brother? No… if he were, I'd know,' Noah thought, doubt settling in his mind. 'I'm going to regret this.'

Noah opened the door again and saw the likely Louchi standing at the end of the hallway, about to throw the unconscious body out the open window. A slight smile curled Noah's lips as he walked toward the boy, shouting, "You crazy idiot, are you trying to cause a disaster here? Drop that guy!"

"Huh, why? I'm just doing my part. Our bet was all or nothing," the likely Louchi responded in a casual tone.

'Ugh, I already deeply regret this. How can this idiot be considered the greatest strategist of the nine nations?' Noah thought, still wearing a fake smile.

The likely Louchi looked at Noah, spread his arms, and let the unconscious body fall to the ground with a dull thud. Putting his right hand behind his head, he said, "Well, I don't stand a chance against you, so it's done." After that, he pointed to the room and added, "But it's still mine."

Noah sighed, exasperated. "Seriously, what's your problem?"

"Huh? What do you mean? I did what you asked," Louchi replied, confused, as he stared at Noah.

'Ah, whatever,' Noah thought before asking aloud, "What's your name?"

"Wait, I didn't introduce myself yet? I see, that's what I should've done first." Louchi clasped his hands together as if apologizing, and then pulled out a wooden crest with the symbol of the Black Rose clan from inside his sleeve. "My name is Louchi, eldest son of the Baccara family. It's a pleasure to meet you, boy with the amazing body."

"Louchi, so it's really you," Noah said, crossing his arms.

"Huh? So you already knew me?" Louchi put a hand to his face, thoughtful, and continued, "Well, I should've known. After all, what would someone like you be doing in a place like this, right? You must be a veteran of the Seven Flowers Academy."

Noah waved his hand dismissively. "Not at all. I've just heard about your clan before. It's been a long time since an unofficial clan has stood out so much."

"Ahhh, I see. So you came looking for me, didn't you? Maybe I won't even have to take the test, right? One of the teachers picked me, didn't they? Who was it? Which clan's crest am I going to get?" Louchi's eyes gleamed with excitement as he clenched his fist, his internal energy, black in color, covering his body.

"That's not it. I don't have any influence, yet." Noah extended his hand. "My name is Noah. I don't belong to any clan, you can consider me a wanderer."

"Wanderer, huh? I see, I see. Now it all makes sense. That's why you have that amazing body. It's clear to me, it was forged through your simple life." Louchi shook Noah's hand with a broad smile. "Noah, know that you have my respect. I hope we can get along well."

"Same here," Noah replied, before looking again at the body sprawled on the ground. "It's better to take him to the landlady. After all, I can feel her gaze, so she already knows everything."

Louchi quickly looked around, scratching his head. "She's here? I only did that because I thought she wasn't. I think I better run then."

"Ah, you don't need to do that. If something like this happens in the halls, it's because I allowed it. And none of the other guests were bothered by this mess." The voice of the woman at the counter echoed in the heads of Noah and Louchi.

Louchi felt a chill run down his spine. "That woman is terrifying."

'So this was the result of their meeting?' Noah thought, as he lifted the unconscious body by the collar of his shirt. "Let's go, Louchi."