Goblin Library - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Chapter 11

[Hmph!]
Dung Carrier Goblin’s voice, as if reading my thoughts, let out a snort, and Taepung’s face hardened.
“That’s not what I meant to say.”
Even at Taepung’s words, Dung Carrier Goblin didn’t respond. At that, Taepung seemed to think of something and spoke hurriedly.
“You write really well. I got annoyed, you see.”
[What… are you saying?]
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s voice, which had been ignoring me but now showed a subtle reaction, Taepung spoke quickly.
“Truly boring and poorly written works just make me feel bored when I read them, but when I read this piece, the protagonist really annoyed me. Since you write so well, you must have moved the reader’s heart, right?”
[….]
There was no response from Dung Carrier Goblin.
Just as Taepung grew anxious, a voice tinged with laughter came.
[You know how to read writing. That’s right. How difficult it is to move a reader’s heart. It’s harder to annoy and sadden readers than to just entertain them. You have to shake their hearts strongly. This new recruit has an eye for works.]
“Thank you.”
[No. I’m sorry for misunderstanding what the new recruit said. Then enjoy it and tell me your thoughts.]
As Dung Carrier Goblin’s mood seemed to soften, Taepung let out a sigh of relief.
I didn’t know what kind of being a goblin was, but I knew for certain that they repay both kindness and grudges.
If Dung Carrier Goblin held a grudge thinking I had disrespected their writing, there was no way I could handle it.
With that, Taepung let out a small sigh, opened the book again, and began to read.
As I read, I felt annoyed at Oh Jang-hyuk, but as I continued, I also began to feel some compassion.
Oh Jang-hyuk was someone who did his absolute best to abuse his position over those beneath him. That I felt compassion for such a person was because, beyond being someone who abused his power, he was truly doing his best to live.
He commuted to work in the morning, worked at the company, clocked out in the evening, filled his stomach with a Convenience Store meal, and immediately went to work as a substitute driver. Then around 3 AM, he came home to a house where everyone was asleep and no one welcomed him, slept for about four hours, and went to work again.
Supporting two children, his company salary wasn’t enough, so he had been living like this for nearly ten years.
‘Could I live like this if I were in his position?’
No matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t think I could live like that.
A life where he couldn’t see his family for even ten minutes a day. And earning money for such a family was Oh Jang-hyuk’s life.
Seeing the story of such a life made me feel sorry for him. In a way, Oh Jang-hyuk embodied the image of a breadwinner struggling through this era.
[You… understand?]
Suddenly, Dung Carrier Goblin’s voice came, and Taepung flinched and looked at the book. Sensing my gaze, Dung Carrier Goblin spoke.
[Ah! Don’t misunderstand. I can communicate with you through the book, but I’m not reading your thoughts.]
“Then how did you know what I was thinking?”
[It’s not thoughts but feelings I sense. For instance, when you feel emotions like enjoyment, sadness, or empathy, those feelings are transmitted directly to the author. That becomes feedback for us.]
“I see.”
[So what do you think?]
“Isn’t that reading my emotions?”
Thinking that if you read emotions, you would know, I spoke, and Dung Carrier Goblin replied.
[Emotions are emotions, but I want to hear your thoughts. And actually….]
Dung Carrier Goblin fell silent for a moment before letting out a sigh.
[You’re the first reader to finish this book.]
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Typhoon paused before speaking.
“Not a single person has read it all this time?”
[…Yeah.]
“But Pot Goblin said there were people who shared it among themselves….”
[Ah, you mean our Lotus.]
“Lotus?”
[It’s our writer’s circle. Lotus blooms even in murky water, so we named it that. We have seven members.]
‘So goblins have a writer’s circle too.’
As Typhoon marveled at all the things goblins seemed to do, Dung Carrier Goblin spoke again.
[We decided to pass the book around among ourselves… but nobody reads it.]
“Why not?”
Dung Carrier Goblin fell silent for a moment before letting out a sigh.
[It’s not entertaining.]
“I see….”
When Typhoon exhaled in understanding, Dung Carrier Goblin smacked their lips and continued.
[Our circle’s youngest member is Playing Cards Goblin. He’s been around for about seventy years… Since his nature is gambling, he writes stories centered on gamblers. But all his protagonists are the same—pathetic. They’re all obsessed with gambling, and watching them makes me furious.]
As Dung Carrier Goblin spoke, something seemed to occur to them, and their voice quickened.
[My novel’s protagonists are all pathetic too, and they lord it over others, but I can’t say they have good character—at least they work hard for people they cherish, whether family or anyone else.]
“That’s true.”
As Typhoon answered while looking at the book, Dung Carrier Goblin continued.
[But that bastard’s protagonists cause their families suffering through gambling, make them run away, make them resent them. So they’re absolutely garbage characters. The protagonists in the novel, I mean. That’s why it irritates me to read it. So I don’t really read it either.]
“What about the others?”
[If I don’t read it, why would the others? We’re….]
Dung Carrier Goblin paused briefly before sighing.
[Unpopular writers.]
In Dung Carrier Goblin’s dejected voice, Typhoon felt something almost familiar.
Unlike Pot Goblin, who had a warm and pleasant manner of speaking, Dung Carrier Goblin was somewhat irritable in tone.
At first, it was a bit uncomfortable, but as they talked, I realized the manner was just a facade—their nature wasn’t so bad after all. Of course, they were a goblin, not a person.
“Then am I your first reader?”
[No. An employee who used to work here read it long ago.]
“Oh! The human employee who worked here?”
[That’s right. That employee was really kind. They didn’t just read my book—they read all the unpopular goblin novels and empathized with them…. It probably wasn’t fun at all, but they still enjoyed it.]
Dung Carrier Goblin spoke with a nostalgic tone, recalling the memory.
After a brief silence, they concluded the conversation.
[So you’re not the first.]
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Typhoon sighed inwardly.
‘Still, I’m the second reader.’
However many centuries Dung Carrier Goblin had lived, only two people had ever read their book.
When Taepung shook his head slightly, Dung Carrier Goblin sighed once more.
[I know my book isn’t entertaining.]
As Taepung hesitated, Dung Carrier Goblin spoke.
[I said it, but I can’t read your thoughts. I can only sense your emotions through the way you’re holding the book.]
“Ah… I see… Well, it’s fine when reading, but it’s a bit uncomfortable when we talk like this.”
Taepung smacked his lips while looking at the book.
Having one’s emotions transmitted felt almost like being stripped bare.
[That’s true. When you’re reading, it’s like comments, but when we talk like this, I’m reading your heart directly.]
“Could you not read my emotions?”
[I could. But say I promise not to read them and keep that promise. Then, as we talk, if my intuitive remarks happen to align perfectly with your emotions, wouldn’t you think I was lying?]
“Ah….”
Sometimes when people talk to each other, they can read the other person’s emotions. No, they read them quite well.
Even if the content of what’s said is fabricated, emotions inevitably seep through supplementary elements like tone of voice.
“Then should we talk over the phone?”
[Ah… Are you going to give me your number?]
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, which seemed full of emotion, Taepung tilted his head and answered.
“Yes.”
[My number is ….]
After hearing Dung Carrier Goblin’s phone number, Taepung set down the book and made the call.
[Ahem, ahem! Hello?]
The same voice he’d been hearing through the book came through the phone.
“It’s Taepung.”
[Yeah… Nice to hear from you.]
Taepung chuckled softly at Dung Carrier Goblin’s voice, which seemed to be trying to sound dignified but came across as awkward instead.
Then silence fell between them for a moment. When holding the book, conversation had flowed well enough, but now that they were actually on the phone… both felt self-conscious and found it difficult to speak first.
After a long stretch of silence, Dung Carrier Goblin gave a small cough and spoke hesitantly.
[What do you think is lacking in my novel?]
At the sudden question, Taepung thought quietly for a moment before answering.
“Are you asking for feedback?”
[Right. I heard that Pot Goblin’s episode this time was created because you provided the material. I’d like it if you could tell me things like that too. How you’d like my novel to go, or if there’s an episode you wish existed.]
Taepung hesitated briefly at Dung Carrier Goblin’s words before speaking.
“Well, Dung Carrier Author….”
[Author?]
Dung Carrier Goblin, momentarily puzzled at being called an author, laughed.
[Yeah, I’m an author. Of course I’m an author!]
Hearing the delight in Dung Carrier Goblin’s voice at being called an author, Taepung spoke.
“Well, I’ve heard that authors each have their own preferences.”
[That’s true.]
“So I thought my preferences might differ from what you prefer.”
[Preferences, huh….]
Dung Carrier Goblin, who had been silent for a moment, spoke with a laugh.
[Well, that’s true. But it doesn’t matter. I listen to what readers have to say, and I accept what I think is worth accepting and reject what I don’t. No matter how much of a reader someone is, if they force their own thoughts onto a writer, that becomes the reader’s work, not the writer’s. And readers read works because they want to see what the writer has created, not what they themselves have made. So I’ll just take your opinion as a reference.]
Typhoon, who had been thinking for a moment at Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, answered.
“I haven’t finished reading the book yet. I’ll read it and think about it.”
[So you’ll read it all?]
“Since I’ve already started, I plan to finish it.”
[Good, thank you. Now go ahead and read.]
After ending the call, Typhoon glanced at his phone for a moment.
“But they seem more easygoing than I expected.”
Since goblins write books with people of similar temperaments, I had anticipated that Dung Carrier Goblin would be as troublesome as Oh Jang-hyuk.
Yet while their voice and manner of speaking sounded somewhat sensitive and irritable, the conversation itself felt as comfortable as the ones I had with Pot Goblin.
So much so that if written down, you wouldn’t be able to tell who was who.
“Then again, goblins all love what’s fun, so maybe they’re fundamentally the same?”
Of course, what kind of fun each pursued would differ, but fundamentally, goblins sought lives that were entertaining and enjoyable.
After briefly comparing Dung Carrier Goblin and Pot Goblin, I shook my head and picked up Oh Jang-hyuk’s book again, opening it.
And I began reading the contents that followed.

As I spent time reading Oh Jang-hyuk’s book, I turned my head at the sound of footsteps.
Bamboo Sword Goblin was looking at me from beside me.
At that, I quickly got up from my seat.
“I finished cleaning and was just reading a book for a moment.”
In a sense, I was caught idly reading a book right in front of my employer, so I felt guilty.
Bamboo Sword Goblin said nothing and reached out to turn the page of the book.
Then, looking at the title and author’s name written on the cover, he tilted his head.
“Is that your taste… this kind of thing?”
“Well… yesterday with Pot Goblin…”
As I told Bamboo Sword Goblin about what happened yesterday, he looked at me with curious eyes.
“Something like that happened?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… you met a character from a novel in person? A reader?”
Bamboo Sword Goblin seemed intrigued by the fact that a reader had met a character from a novel directly, and he briefly glanced through the book on the table.
Then he looked at me once and turned his body away.
“Leave when you have time.”
At that, I tried to hurry after him, but my body wouldn’t move.
“Huh?”
Bamboo Sword Goblin spoke to me, who was bewildered.
“Don’t worry about me coming and going. It’s bothersome.”
Once Bamboo Sword Goblin left the spot, my body finally moved.
I sighed and smacked my lips before getting up.
“He must be disappointed.”
Bamboo Sword Goblin was the owner and employer, yet his employee hadn’t even glanced at his book.
And after promising to read it, no less.
Typhoon approached the first bookshelf and scanned the titles quickly. But truthfully, there was no need to search for Bamboo Sword Goblin’s work.
It was displayed at eye level in the most prominent spot, its cover facing outward unlike the other books.

【Lim Sung-woon】
Author: Bamboo Sword Goblin

Typhoon nodded as he observed the book brazenly displayed in the best location.
“Well, the library owner deserves at least this much privilege.”
With that, Typhoon reached for the 【Lim Sung-woon】 book.
“I wonder what kind of tastes our boss has.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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