At first glance, the black demon wasn’t an ordinary existence, so when he blatantly called himself a benefactor, I thought the kids would be surprised, but they all accepted it quickly.

Rather, they immediately guessed when he must have earned the title of benefactor.

“Hyo-don trained in Hongcheon when the typhoon came, right? I heard he did rescue operations then, so it must be related to that.”

“Oh, now that you mention it, Yi-shin was in Hongcheon when he appeared on the news before!”

“If you’re classmates of the benefactors, it’s natural to know, but you seem to know well.”

The black demon didn’t deny it; instead, he nodded with satisfaction.

Watching the classmates share information like that, I wondered if this was really okay.

But it was already too late.

The kids were starting to call us benefactors, and they became curious about who the black demon was, especially since he seemed close with Teacher Ham Geun-hyung.

Hwang Ji-ho and Cheong-ho exchanged glances; they looked like they thought it was already too late.

“My introduction is late. I am the leader of the horse tribe, the Black Demon. Don’t confuse me with the demon tribe from the demon world—I belong to the zodiac alliance’s horse tribe.”

Even those uninterested in the Jin tribe knew anyone belonging to the zodiac alliance.

I worried the classmates might be confused, but surprisingly, they remained calm.

Some, like Kwon Rena, openly widened their eyes in surprise, but most showed little reaction.

The one involved, Maeng Hyo-don, just looked blank.

“The horse tribe and the horse tribe...? Are they different?”

Because he had forgotten much about the real black demon, Hyo-don struggled to dig through his memories, and with the new information, he got even more confused.

That made Kim Yuri quickly summarize information about the horse tribe in a whisper to him.

Hyo-don, hearing that, finally recalled something and exclaimed, “Ah!”

“The Jin tribe who gave you that dreamcatcher!”

“Seems like you remembered. Did you use my gift well? It was a precious item made from unicorn tail hair. If you didn’t use it properly, it might have disappointed them.”

The word “dreamcatcher” brought a bitter feeling.

I remembered the nightmare I had when I was assigned to the same room as Hyo-don.

The White Tiger had clammed up awkwardly, trying to hide his blessing and nightmare, which only made things worse.

I don’t know if he’s still locked up in the dorm room, at the Tiger mansion, or just wandering somewhere in the silver mine district, but wherever he is, I know he’s reading these thoughts.

I hope the White Tiger quietly reflects alone.

In-seon Oh, who had advised Hyo-don to use the dreamcatcher at the time, showed interest in the black demon’s words and listened carefully.

Currently, In-seon Oh was wearing the class T-shirt with the slogan written by Ong Gildong, “Proud Dusk, Our Partner,” along with a flashy aurora-colored spider accessory given by some attention seekers, making her stand out greatly.

“The child you saved was weak but precious. It wouldn’t be a waste to give more treasures. You saved a divine beast.”

“May I ask a question?”

“Go ahead.”

As soon as the black demon finished speaking, Ong Gildong asked as if waiting eagerly.

His tone was very polite but exaggerated, and the black demon didn’t seem to find it strange or unpleasant.

“If Hyo-don became a benefactor by saving the divine beast, what did Yi-shin do to become a benefactor?”

“Oh, I was curious about that too! He must have done something amazing!”

Sawal Seyum also showed curiosity.

On her class T-shirt was the phrase “MITRON VIP,” written by Han, who often bought snacks with her.

The black demon seemed interested in the word “MITRON,” briefly staring at it before answering.

“He protected our honor. Without that child, we would have been targets for extermination. You didn’t come here to visit; you might have come to hunt us.”

The black demon’s answer was incredibly heavy.

I expected a lighter answer like Hyo-don’s, but it wasn’t.

Hwang Ji-ho and Cheong-ho deliberately neglected the black ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ demon’s praise of me, perhaps hoping to hear it more clearly, but now they seemed to regret it.

If that operation had succeeded and the black demon had been falsely accused of colluding with the Death Demon and erecting altars all over the Korean Peninsula, the government’s shadowy hands might have issued extermination orders.

Pro players, led by Jeolheukpungnim, would have begun the hunt.

“I remember that day well. The means used by the Death Demon’s cultists were so atrocious that Master Jangmoon mentioned it several times. I knew the vice leader was involved, but I never thought he’d be deeply involved enough to be called a benefactor...”

Since it involved the Death Demon, Jin Jeongmuk knew the details thoroughly.

Of course, some information hidden by the nobles that day hadn’t been revealed, but he knew all the publicly known facts.

As Jin Jeongmuk’s concise explanation continued, the classmates looked impressed and glanced at me several times.

When things not my merit were described as if they were mine, I named Song Man-seok, Hong Gyeong-bok, Tak Geo-san, and Hwang Bo-yoon, and even mentioned Gye Idam’s presence, though it made things a bit uncomfortable.

Still, the classmates’ reactions barely changed.

“You’re humble. I won’t explain, since your classmates seem to understand without me mentioning your merit.”

Jin Jeongmuk, who had spoken the longest, firmly nodded.

I wrote the phrase on Jin Jeongmuk’s class T-shirt: “No need to brag.”

It was my hint to solve the concerns of our martial arts classmates.

I hoped they would think more about that hint than the achievements I made, but Jin Jeongmuk didn’t seem to care much.

“Then I’ll help with the horseback riding experience, so get ready. You don’t have to bring riding clothes or boots, but wear a helmet and gloves.”

“...Is that okay?”

“Yes, that’s why I came.”

Teacher Ham Geun-hyung hesitated for a moment, knowing the black demon was an enemy, wondering if it was really okay for the leader of the Jin tribe to be here like this.

But when he saw Hwang Ji-ho, leader of the nobles, heading to the clubhouse with the classmates, his expression calmed, and he shook off his hesitation.

Since there were leaders who acted as students daily, acting as a temporary teacher was no big deal.

Meanwhile, on Teacher Ham’s class T-shirt was the phrase “Autumn Picnic with Hongcheon’s Hero, Chang Cheonmyeonggung,” something that could be printed on souvenir shirts or towels.

It was written by Mok U-ram, who had plenty of experience buying tons of souvenirs at gift shops like a pushover.

“U-ram, we decided to rent as a group. Why go to buy? Are you really planning to buy?”

“Buying is better as a keepsake, isn’t it?”

“Look at the phrase on your T-shirt!”

On Mok U-ram’s class T-shirt was written “No buying.”

Worried that U-ram would recklessly spend his already little money in excitement on the picnic, Teacher Ham had written that phrase.

With the strong phrase added and the classmates’ discouragement, U-ram finally gave in.

“Since you’re all players, balance will be restored quickly. Relax and treat the horses comfortably.”

The horseback riding class with the black demon was easy to understand and useful.

Most were riding horses for the first time, but everyone learned quickly.

Even Kwon Rena, who worried us the most, soon managed to ride a horse.

“Jeongmuk rides well!”

“If you’re a person roaming the rivers and mountains, you should know how to ride.”

“Isn’t it more useful to learn how to call an air taxi?”

Our class’s riding ace was Jin Jeongmuk, but secretly, I agreed with Song Daeseok’s words.

In modern times, there was hardly any occasion to ride horses.

Jin Jeongmuk responded seriously.

“That’s not wrong either. I agree with the changes following the times. But don’t you see how well the horses follow Song So-hyup? If you say that, they’d be hurt.”

Hearing that, the white horse carrying Song Daeseok looked a little down.

The riding club basically had horses, but some horses had been brought by the black demon.

The white horse Song Daeseok was riding was one of them.

In other words, that white horse was likely intelligent enough to understand what Song Daeseok said.

If Mingrin wasn’t busy experiencing obstacle jumping, she would have sharply scolded him.

‘Isn’t this the white horse we met at the foot of Mount O-eumsan?’

While Song Daeseok apologized to the white horse, I looked at some of the horses.

A white horse that seemed to want to follow Song Daeseok came flicking its tail.

It looked like one of the horses we met then.

Those horses seemed very fond of Song Daeseok.

To add, they seemed interested in me too, but not as much as with Song Daeseok.

‘I think I’m just an object of observation. Maybe because of the tigers, they’re cautious? But seeing what the black demon does, I don’t think that’s the case.’

Whether they disliked the black demon being around or not, Hwang Ji-ho and Cheong-ho wandered around me throughout the riding experience.

Because of that, some horses with sensitive senses were wary of the tigers and didn’t even come near us.

Still, maybe because we got attached quickly, by the time we were about to leave, the horses showed signs of regret.

I don’t know if they’ll get the message, but I thanked the black demon and the other horses.

“See you next time, benefactor.”

Seeing me say goodbye, the black demon sent me off with a very gentle expression.

Hwang Ji-ho frowned, perhaps displeased by the word “benefactor,” but not wanting to ruin the mood, he didn’t say anything.

It was just as we were about to move to the summit of Maebongsan to ride the giant swing before sunset.

Teacher Ham checked his device and suddenly darkened his expression.

The kids who had seen that look several times already knew what was going on.

Some reacted before I did.

“Teacher, this is related to that Hongcheon incident again, right? I heard the master helped a few times, so I know some of the details.”

“This time, let’s do it together. If you join us, it will be faster.”

After Mingrin, Dokgo Miro reacted aggressively.

The kids who tended to arrive late at school hadn’t fully grasped the situation, but they roughly knew Teacher Ham’s frequent business trips were related.

Teacher Ham wore a grim face shadowed by deep worry.

Ordinary students would have lowered their heads just seeing that face, but our class wasn’t that easy.

“...I’ll check if it’s okay to take you with me.”

While Teacher Ham turned on his device to contact somewhere, the classmates decided to share information.

Guseulbi first asked Kim Yuri.

“We don’t know what’s going on! Explain it to us. Ah, even if we don’t know, we’ll follow you!”

Kim Yuri, who knew the situation, looked back at Teacher Ham.

Even during the call, receiving that gaze, she nodded.

It seemed like it was okay to explain.

“Do you know about Teacher Ham’s past event where he stopped the Otherworldly transformation in Hongcheon?”

“Of course, we know.”

“Although the Otherworldly transformation was stopped safely, did you know that this land still sometimes, no, often... suffers from its aftereffects?”

The kids nodded vigorously and stopped moving.

Apparently, the behind-the-scenes story of the Hongcheon Otherworldly transformation incident was not well known.