HxH: Noah’s Heart

"No… Noah?"

Early the next morning, Melkha saw Noah coming out of the door, and his expression was nothing short of astonishment. The aura surrounding Noah was clearly reflected in his eyes.

"Good morning, Melkha," Noah, who had gained control of Nen after yesterday's confrontation, greeted cheerfully upon seeing Melkha outside.

Staring at Noah for a few seconds, Melkha was certain he wasn't seeing things. He shook his head with a wry smile and said, "It feels like every time I see you, I get scared. You punched Ashu yesterday, and now, overnight, you've learned Nen. It's unbelievable."

No wonder Gatoh made an exception and included him. This guy is simply a monster. Melkha kept that thought to himself.

"It's just luck," Noah replied.

"Luck? Well, that's a kind of luck that many people can only envy," Melkha didn't intend to pry further. Just as he had said yesterday, everyone has secrets, and Melkha wasn't the type to dig into others' secrets. He only needed to do his own job. As for Noah, whether this was luck or exceptional talent, it didn't matter much to him. At most, it was just surprising.

"Oh, truly remarkable talent."

Just then, a voice came from the side, and it was Gatoh, still wearing that expression, emerging from the darkness. His double pupils behind his glasses were fixed firmly on Noah, who immediately felt a sense of pressure.

Nen!

In that split second, Gatoh launched a Nen attack against Noah, just as Ashu had done yesterday. However, without a doubt, Gatoh's Nen was far more threatening than Ashu's.

Faced with the pressure emanating from Gatoh, if it were the Noah from yesterday, he would have already lost his ability to move at this point, becoming a sitting duck, helpless. But now, with Nen under his control, Noah faced Gatoh's emanating Nen without the slightest hesitation. He stood in place, calmly watching Gatoh.

"Hmph."

Seeing this, Gatoh retracted his Nen, pushed up his glasses, and said, "I originally planned to observe you for a few more days, but now it seems you have much stronger talent than Ashu in Nen."

"You were able to awaken Nen overnight, and I can probably guess it was because of the punch you landed on Ashu's face yesterday."

"To awaken Nen, there are two methods. The first is gradual cultivation, slowly opening your pores. The second is to forcefully awaken it by receiving stimulation from someone who already possesses Nen. However, you're a bit of an exception. Forceful awakenings are generally initiated by Nen users themselves, but you did the opposite. You hit Ashu's face, and that punch likely provided enough stimulation to open your pores."

Pausing there, Gatoh looked deeply at Noah and continued, "It's indeed luck, but you had no one to teach you. You managed to master Ten in just one night, and that's something luck alone can't achieve."

"Luckily, I had heard someone talk about Nen before," Noah said. He didn't know how his pores had opened exactly, but he somewhat agreed with Gatoh's speculation.

Narrowing his eyes, Gatoh showed a hint of doubt. "You heard about it? But did he teach you the practice of Nen?"

Not surprising that Gatoh was puzzled. If someone told Noah about Nen, it would likely be to teach him how to use it. Otherwise, there would be no reason for someone to casually share that knowledge with him. However, until today, Noah hadn't shown any signs of learning Nen.

At this point, Gatoh believed he couldn't be mistaken because he also knew about the method of awakening that felt like a natural fit.

Which guy is so bored that they can talk about such things for fun?

Where could Gatoh have guessed that there wasn't actually a bored guy? Noah's knowledge of Nen came from watching anime.

"No." So in the face of Gatoh's suspicion, even though Noah really wanted to laugh, he still pretended to look like there was "such a bored guy."

On the side, Melkha couldn't care less and smiled. He said, "The world is so big, it's not strange to have one or two strange guys. Maybe they were drunk and just said it casually. You're indeed lucky to encounter such a thing."

"That's right. Since you know about the Four Major Principles, you don't need to put in so much effort. After mastering Ren, what you need to learn is Hatsu and Ten, techniques for isolating and enhancing your aura. Melkha will be responsible for teaching you these, as well as some essential skills for butlers."

After Gatoh left, Noah looked at Melkha and asked, "What are the essential skills for butlers? Like serving tea and pouring water?"

"Haha."

Melkha laughed and said, "Butlers of the Zoldyck Family don't need to learn how to serve tea and pour water. What you need to learn are some useful techniques that can be applied in critical situations. You don't need to worry. With your talent, you'll probably learn things like stealth very quickly."

Stealth?

Noah's heart moved.

If he remembered correctly, stealth was one of the assassination techniques of the Zoldyck Family, a skill that allowed silent and invisible movement. It was quite surprising that even butlers could learn this.

"All right, you've been loitering around here for long enough. Follow me, have breakfast first, and then I'll show you around the surroundings. As a butler, there are places you can't enter without the employer's instructions. Your main activity area will be limited to the butler's room."

So, Noah followed Melkha, spending the morning getting familiar with what a Zoldyck Family butler should pay attention to and some obligations he had to fulfill.

In the afternoon, Melkha demonstrated stealth in front of Noah and explained the techniques involved. He also shared his experiences in practicing Ren and Hatsu from the Four Major Principles.

"Understanding is only the first step. I'll only teach you these things once, the rest is up to you. Don't forget, after dinner, you need to stand guard at the gate, and make sure not to be late." After casually leaving a few words of advice, Melkha left on his own.

"Rely on myself… huh?" Watching Melkha's figure disappear not far away, Noah smiled faintly. When it came to learning, Noah had enough confidence.

After dinner, a few minutes before eight, Noah arrived at the same iron gate where the initial test took place. According to Melkha's instructions, this place was the entrance to the Zoldyck Family. Anyone could enter the Trial Gate as long as they had the strength to push it open. But here, it needed someone to guard it.

"Your name is Noah, right?"

Just as Noah reached the iron gate, a voice came from above.