The Hero! Has! Arrived!

Recognizing the face of the one who had kicked the door open and burst in, Ro-un got to his feet with his mouth hanging open.

“No! Your Majesty, what brings you here?”
“Oh! Is the Saint well today as well?”

Baek Ho-yeon raised a hand in an easy manner and asked after Ro-un.
“Huh? Y-yes. Are you at peace as well, Your Majesty?”
“The Saint has eased my worries, so I am very much at peace.”

The tiger who had barged in so suddenly burst into hearty laughter, then sat down across from Yong Chang-jin.
The brows of Baekdu Academy’s chairman, who had been sitting opposite him, rose like mountains.

“What are you doing here? Weren’t you holed up in Mount Baekdu?”
“It is an honor to meet the king of the Tiger Clan, guardian of the mountains of the Korean Peninsula. We met once before, long ago.”
“What’s with that way of talking? It’s awkward. We met once five hundred years ago.”
“I have no idea what you mean.”

At a ‘long ago’ measured in centuries, Ro-un kept his mouth firmly shut and held the child in silence.
He felt like a bug trapped between a tiger and a dragon.
Regardless, the two continued talking.

“I heard the Tiger Clan adheres to a closed policy. What brings Your Majesty into the human world?”
“You’re starting to scare me. Talk like you used to.”

At Baek Ho-yeon’s words, Yong Chang-jin glanced at Ro-un before speaking.
That dragon… don’t tell me he’s acting like that because of me?

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”
Don’t tell me he still has no idea everyone already knows he’s a dragon and is still putting on an act?!
At the steadfastness of a nonhuman species, or perhaps its sheer thickness, Ro-un found his mouth falling open.
Completely unaware that every being in the room had already realized what he was, Yong Chang-jin shamelessly continued playing “Baekdu Academy’s chairman” and asked,

“What reason does the Tiger Clan’s king have for gracing Jiri Academy with his presence?”
“Ha! Look at you pretending not to know. Fine! Do whatever you want! Let’s see if you can fool all the people in the world that way!”

Lee Ro-un, one of the people in that world, lowered his head and pretended not to know either.

“Kyaah! Hi!”

As Ro-un played with the child’s light, soft white hair, the baby dragon burst into giggles and flailed his hands trying to grab Ro-un’s fingers.
Seeing the child’s innocent behavior, the sense that he was trapped between beings who had lived for thousands of years seemed to melt away like snow.
While he played with the child who could say nothing but “hi,” the conversation between two of the Korean Peninsula’s top species continued.

“Hey. Kkum-teul. Stop pretending not to know.”

At the form of address “Kkum-teul,” Baekdu Academy’s chairman’s brows bent like mountains once again.
Ro-un’s ears pricked up again as well.

“It seems the Tiger Clan’s king has been cut off from the world for too long. In human society, etiquette requires mutual respect in conversation.”
“Oh? Really? So you’re the one talking about manners now? You’ve gotten a lot tamer. Are you putting on airs because the Saint is here? Or because you have a child?”
“I have no idea what you mean. I would appreciate it if the Tiger Clan’s king would speak more precisely.”
“Stop acting! I heard everything outside, you know?”

Yong Chang-jin’s remaining brow bent like a mountain too.
Once both brows had bent, Yong Chang-jin gave up the act.

“For a Divine Beast to resort to eavesdropping. The White Tiger’s dignity has fallen to the ground.”

Arrogant words spilled from Yong Chang-jin’s mouth.
Baek Ho-yeon shot back with a beaming smile.

“I couldn’t care less about that.”
“You’re still frivolous, White Tiger.”
“And you’re still underhanded.”
“Underhanded? Since when?”
“‘Our benefactor,’ was it? Since when did student Lee Ro-un become your benefactor? Lee Ro-un is the benefactor of this Yong Chang-jin.”
“What are you talking about! The Saint is my benefactor!”
“How ridiculous. Lee Ro-un is the benefactor who saved my child’s life.”
“He saved my daughter too, you know?”
“He saved my child before he saved your daughter, so that gives me priority.”
“I don’t believe it. Name the month, the day, and the exact time.”

So even beings that old still act like children.
At Baek Ho-yeon’s statement, which made him question the man’s mental age, Ro-un carefully covered the child’s ears with one hand.

‘Should I just take the child outside for now?’

As Ro-un quietly rose at the childish yet destructive conversation between the two beings, both of their gazes followed him.
Don’t go proving that you can still catch every little movement while you’re busy having such childish arguments.
Meeting the gazes fixed on him, Ro-un opened his mouth.

“It seems the two of you have things to say, so please continue your conversation comfortably. I’ll take the child for a walk for a bit.”
“Sure. I’ll see my benefactor later. As the chairman and the benefactor’s guar.di.an, I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Yes. …Huh?”

Ro-un, who had been about to turn and leave, whipped around at Baek Ho-yeon’s words.
Who’s what now?
Yong Chang-jin’s suspicious gaze also fixed on Baek Ho-yeon.

“As of today, I’ve taken office as Jiri Academy’s chairman.”

At Baek Ho-yeon’s words, Ro-un’s mouth fell open.
Wait, who became what?
‘Then what about the one who was chairman before?!’

I was planning to go catch that chairman today, and now all my plans are a total mess!
Unaware of Ro-un’s thoughts, Baek Ho-yeon lightly waved a hand at him.

“Enjoy your walk. As student Lee Ro-un’s guar.di.an, I’ll make sure this Kkum-teul gets back safely.”
Just like Baek Ho-yeon’s words suggested, Yong Chang-jin’s brows twitched.
As Baek Ho-yeon waved him off, Ro-un found himself stumbling out of the chairman’s office.
Let’s think after the walk.

The moment Ro-un left, Yong Chang-jin released his pressure and glared at Baek Ho-yeon.

“What exactly are you doing? Why are you interfering?”
“What did I do?”
“I’m taking Lee Ro-un to Baekdu Academy.”
“Oh, come on. Trying to poach another academy’s student with no sense of fair play?”

Lazily sprawled in his chair at an angle, Baek Ho-yeon spoke with shameless ease.

“And what about you? A guy holed up in Inwang Mountain suddenly comes all the way down to Mount Jiri and what? Becomes an academy chairman? Did you go mad after shutting yourself up in your tiger’s den?”
“What, is it really that insane for me to come down because there was no one left in Mount Jiri? If anything, what brings you to Mount Jiri? Wasn’t this bear territory?”
“Lady Ungnyeo took the entire Bear Clan away, so Mount Jiri had no caretaker. Who do you think has been managing Mount Jiri all this time after the Bear Clan left? My wife.”

From Yong Chang-jin’s mouth came the reason the black imugi had taken up residence at Mount Jiri’s summit.
At Yong Chang-jin’s claim of legitimacy, Baek Ho-yeon replied with a bored expression.

“So I’m saying I’ll take over that management.”
“You?”
“I’m closer than you are sitting up in Mount Baekdu, aren’t I? I’ll fill the gap the bears left behind.”
“So you’re saying you’re going to steal Mount Jiri?”
“Why phrase it like that? I’m only saying I’ll help out of goodwill. We both suffered badly at human hands, so I’m helping. Humans call that being on the same boat, don’t they?”

What a joke.
He obviously had some other motive.
Yong Chang-jin glared at the underhanded furball and spoke.

“More importantly, what is this nonsense about being your benefactor? What are you trying to pull with the Saint?”
“What do you mean, trying to pull something? Didn’t you hear what I just said? I really came to repay the debt I owe the benefactor who saved our princess.”
“You?”
“He saved our princess. This much is only natural.”

As if intent on digging into Ho-yeon’s real motives, Yong Chang-jin revealed his Dragon Eyes and stared in silence.
The dragon’s eyes pinned Baek Ho-yeon, seated across from him.

“If you stare at me that intensely, I’ll get embarrassed. For all that, I’m a man with many children depending on me.”

Ho-yeon likewise revealed his Tiger Eyes and responded with easy composure.
Since their ranks were equal and they had known each other for so long, the standoff ended fruitlessly and almost anticlimactically.
Yong Chang-jin closed and reopened his eyes as if fed up, then warned Ho-yeon.

“I don’t know what you’re up to, but I can’t entrust the Saint to you.”
“Well now? As his legal guardian, I can’t send my benefactor into the nest of some blue-blooded thing.”
“So you think a tiger’s den black as pitch inside is safe?”
“You do know the human saying that even if you enter a tiger’s den, you’ll be fine as long as you keep your wits about you, don’t you? Do you really think the Saint is some fool who’d just let himself be eaten?”

At Baek Ho-yeon’s relaxed answer, Yong Chang-jin’s brow bent once more.
Yong Chang-jin tried to grasp the meaning hidden in Baek Ho-yeon’s words.

‘What happened with the Tiger Clan? It’s certain he saved that guy’s daughter, but it seems there was something else too that caught Baek Ho-yeon’s interest.’

Watching the changes in his old acquaintance’s expression with amusement, Baek Ho-yeon skillfully concealed his true thoughts.
Baek Ho-yeon recalled the prophecy his youngest princess had spoken to Lee Ro-un.
At the same time, he remembered that someone had deliberately targeted his princess.

‘When the time comes, I’ll step in personally and cut off the bastard’s breath.’

A vicious light flashed through Baek Ho-yeon’s eyes.
Yong Chang-jin recognized that look at once.

“So you do have some other purpose. It seems something matters more to you than repaying the debt for saving your daughter, and yet you still shamelessly call him a benefactor.”
“Says the one who nearly lost his kid in a spring. Keep your mouth shut.”
“And weren’t you the one whose daughter got hit in the tiger’s den?”
“……”
“……”
“Let’s stop.”
“Fine.”

The tiger and the dragon, both among the Korean Peninsula’s strongest species yet both fathers as well, fell silent.
For a moment, a heavy silence settled over the chairman’s office.

‘Wait. Something’s off.’

A dragon and a tiger, both among the Korean Peninsula’s top species, nearly lost precious children inside their own territories?
Realizing that fact, Ho-yeon’s expression changed.

“Hey.”
“I have no intention of wasting more words with you. Even if you’ve taken up the chairman’s post here, the Saint became a dragon’s benefactor, so I’m taking him.”
“As his guardian, I do not consen— no. Wait, that’s not it.”
“What are you trying now?”

As expected of someone who had known him a long time, Yong Chang-jin reacted with suspicion first.
To Yong Chang-jin, who openly showed his wariness, Baek Ho-yeon replied in a face emptied of humor.

“Not long ago, someone planted 【Defilement】 in my daughter inside my own territory.”
“They targeted your daughter inside your own territory?”

So that was how Lee Ro-un became his benefactor?
More than that, was someone saying they had deliberately sickened Baek Ho-yeon’s child? He mocked him often enough, but Ho-yeon’s territory was no ordinary territory.
Anyone who meddled with Baek Ho-yeon’s family there was no one to underestimate.
And they had used 【Defilement】, something that couldn’t be easily handled, as their method!

“Yong Chang-jin. How exactly did your child fall into the spring? Was it truly just an accident?”

Ho-yeon asked, radiating the pressure fitting of a Divine Beast.
Yong Chang-jin recalled the words of his beloved child and mate.

“While Mugi had stepped away for a moment to inspect the territory, the child was swimming alone when, as if someone had grabbed his tail, he was caught in the current….”

As he recalled his son’s account, Yong Chang-jin stopped short.
At the time, he had thought the child was merely describing what it felt like to be swept away by the current, but after hearing Baek Ho-yeon’s words, he could no longer dismiss it.
Looking back on it now, even if he was still young, it was hard to believe a dragon’s child could be caught in a mere stream’s current like that.

‘Someone deliberately targeted my child and my mate?!’

The blood drained from Yong Chang-jin’s face.
At the emergence of a suspicious enemy, the faces of both Divine Beasts turned grave.

“Hey. Doesn’t this feel like someone deliberately pulled a trick here?”
“I can’t be certain, but it is suspicious.”

Ordinarily, they would never have considered working together, but the fact that someone had targeted their children created common ground between them.

“If someone deliberately set all this in motion, they may target Lee Ro-un as well for interfering with it.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“Then all the more reason for me to take him. I might be able to catch their tail.”
“Only a long-bodied bastard like you would say you’re going to catch someone’s tail.”
“Don’t you have a tail too?”

The light joke eased the mood between them, but not the seriousness beneath it.

“I’m Lee Ro-un’s new guardian. So stop saying things no one will buy and get out.”
“I came here with formal permission. It was handled by the human who was here before you arrived, so you have no standing to object.”
“Tch. Humans really are impossible to like. How long are you staying?”
“One week.”

At Yong Chang-jin’s answer, Baek Ho-yeon smiled broadly.

“As the new chairman, I’ll make a request. Get out.”
“No. If you want to argue, argue with the human who was here before.”
“I don’t recall receiving any handover about your visit.”
“And I don’t recall being informed of the new chairman’s appointment either.”

The kings of the top-tier species on the Korean Peninsula, beings who had lived for thousands of years, bickered like children.

“Hi!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Kyaahaha!”

Ro-un trudged along in the direction the child pointed.
‘Whether they’re human children or dragon hatchlings, having endless stamina is all the same.’

Watching the child run around and play, Ro-un spoke.

“Let’s head back now. They’ll be waiting.”
“Hi!”

With a slightly tired expression, Ro-un lifted the child, who had come back obediently enough, and headed toward the chairman’s office.
By now, the tiger and the dragon should have gotten at least some of their conversation out of the way.
As Ro-un held the child tightly so he would not slip while leaning around, a sharp voice reached his ear.

“Benefactor!!”
“Princess? What are you doing here?”

She should still be recovering more, so how did she get here?
As Ro-un hurried over while checking the princess’s complexion, the Tiger Clan’s youngest princess looked back and forth between Ro-un and the white-haired boy in his arms with the face of someone betrayed.
She looked up at Ro-un as if wronged.

“Is, is this child your yo, younger brother, Benefactor?”
“No? We just happened to meet.”

At Ro-un’s answer, In-woo’s mouth fell open in shock.

‘He’s not even your younger brother, and you’re holding him that gently!?’

Just then, the white-haired child rubbed his head against Ro-un as if on purpose.
At the same behavior he had shown as a white snake, Ro-un felt a sense of déjà vu and brushed back the boy’s hair with one hand.
In-woo, who had watched the whole scene clearly, had tears gather in her spring-flower-yellow eyes.

“Wuh, waaahhh!”
“?! Princess?”
“Waaahhh! B-but Iiiii!”
“Huh? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“He’s my benefactor toooo!”

The more In-woo cried, the more the white-haired child rubbed himself against Ro-un.
At the Tiger Clan’s youngest princess crying hard enough to flop onto the floor like a child whose toy had been snatched away, Ro-un panicked, then before he knew it, the corner of his mouth lifted and he reached out to scoop In-woo up into his arms.

“Huhhh?”
“Up you go! Will this do?”

“Hic! Huhhh, wwaaah!”

Held in Ro-un’s other arm, In-woo made an indignant, puff-cheeked sound no one could make sense of, then wrapped her arms around his neck.
Urk, I’m not a tiger. I’m a fragile healer.

“Princess. Could you maybe, just a little, ease up on your grip?”
At Ro-un’s request, In-woo loosened her arms a little.
Then the other side started choking his neck instead.

“Hiii.”

And what’s your problem now?
As if the dissatisfaction that had drained from the princess’s cheeks had moved over into the white-haired child, the dragon hatchling started pouting too.

“What’s wrong? Hm? Tired?”
“Hiii!”

So that’s not it.
Seeing the white-haired child push his head forward while glaring at In-woo, Ro-un let out a quiet snort.

He could feel him guarding against the sudden appearance of someone around his own age.

‘I feel like something like this used to happen at the orphanage too.’

The only difference was that those had been children not even five years old yet, while these kids, no matter how young they looked on the outside, were beings nearing a hundred inside. But what they did was much the same.
As Ro-un took turns soothing the two beings whose mental ages seemed on par with children under five and putting up with their sulking, he heard something slice through the air.

Shuuuuung!

“This.”

At the sound that triggered his trauma, Ro-un reflexively pulled the children tight against him and used a skill.

【Protection Lv.1】

Just after a milky-white dome spread out from Ro-un, something fell from the sky.

Kuuuuung!

A burst of dust that billowed up settled over the [Protection] Ro-un had cast on reflex.
As the ground shook like an earthquake, Ro-un planted his lower body and held firm.
As the impact strong enough to kick up clouds of dust gradually faded and the dirt began to settle, hearty laughter burst out from within it.

“Hahahahahahahaha!”

At the laughter bursting out from the settling dust, Ro-un’s face twisted at once.

‘It was about time that bastard came back.’

That bastard stood out even among the piles of worthless students at Jiri Academy.
His wanderlust was so bad that he skipped class without permission and roamed around outside the academy, so Ro-un had once even gone abroad to drag him back.
At the return of the bastard proudly sitting at number one on Ro-un’s blacklist, Ro-un moved the children behind him.

Between the dust, brown hair glinting in the sunlight came into view.
Broad shoulders, a proud stance, and laughter full of bravado.
As a face clean-cut enough to belong to an actor emerged, he shouted,

“The Hero! Has! Arrived!”

Of course it’s that bastard.
Blacklist number one, the owner of 【Trait: Hero (B)】, afflicted with incurable wanderlust.

“Hahahahahahahaha!”
“Cheon Su-ho….”

Goddammit. I’m dropping out as soon as I can.