Goblin Library - Chapter 121

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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 121.

While eating snacks, Yu Tae-poong shared various stories with Lee Gang-jin.
“So the glasses Yu Tae-poong is wearing are those tiger eyebrows, and what you have on is a Goblin’s headwrap.”
Seeing Lee Gang-jin’s fascination, Yu Tae-poong pulled out a key.
“This is a Goblin’s magic club that Pot Goblin gave me.”
“She gave you a Goblin’s magic club?”
Yu Tae-poong answered while looking toward where Bae Yong-su’s voice came from.
“But I can’t use the ‘gold, come forth’ function.”
“Ah… you can’t?”
At Bae Yong-su’s disappointed tone, Yu Tae-poong chuckled and nodded.
“Everything I received has several functions locked.”
Then Yu Tae-poong pointed to the fedora he was wearing and spoke.
“When it comes to Goblin headwraps, the most famous thing is….”
“Invisibility!”
“Invisibility.”
As Lee Gang-jin and Bae Yong-su answered simultaneously, Yu Tae-poong laughed and said.
“Invisibility is the most famous, but that function is locked too.”
“Ah….”
“Ah….”
Both let out disappointed sounds.
At that, Yu Tae-poong turned toward where Bae Yong-su’s voice came from and asked.
“Isn’t it the same as having invisibility since you’re already invisible anyway?”
“Well, that’s true… but it’s still different. Being able to become invisible when you want is different from always being invisible.”
Lee Gang-jin nodded in agreement.
“When I was young, I really wanted to be invisible. I could play pranks and cheat on tests.”
“I used to think about that a lot when I was young too….”
“Right. Childhood dreams really are….”
As Lee Gang-jin continued talking, he looked at Yu Tae-poong’s Goblin headwrap.
“So what can this Goblin headwrap actually do?”
“Well, for one thing….”
Yu Tae-poong gazed at Lee Gang-jin and smoothly ran his hand across the Goblin headwrap.
Whoosh!
Then Yu Tae-poong’s clothes transformed into the same outfit Lee Gang-jin was wearing.
“Wow!”
“What is this? Your clothes changed?”
As both expressed their surprise, Yu Tae-poong laughed and removed the fedora, tossing it onto the table with a light flick.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Yu Tae-poong’s clothes transformed into athletic wear.
“When I’m wearing the manggeon, I can change my clothes. But once I take it off and move beyond arm’s reach, my outfit reverts to what I was originally wearing.”
“Doesn’t that seem inconvenient?”
“It hasn’t been inconvenient so far. It’s actually more convenient than I expected, so I rarely take it off except at home.”
As Yu Tae-poong smiled and reached toward the manggeon, Lee Gang-jin picked it up and handed it to him.
Whoosh!
The moment the manggeon came within reach, his clothes snapped back to their original state.
Yu Tae-poong laughed, then suddenly checked the time and stood up.
“I’m afraid I’ve been away from my post far too long. I am a working professional, after all.”
I had only meant to step away briefly, but the conversation had been so enjoyable that I’d lost track of time.
“The Goblin Library is my workplace too, so I can’t be absent for long. Oh! Wait just a moment.”
A moment later, a shopping bag held in rubber-gloved hands floated through the air toward Yu Tae-poong.
“These are side dishes from our restaurant. Since you mentioned living alone, please take them.”
“Thank you so much. Perhaps you could visit our library later—”
Yu Tae-poong, about to finish his sentence, suddenly glanced at the Dung Carrier Goblin.
“Would it be alright to invite you to the Goblin Library?”
“The library is a place for reading books, so you’re welcome to visit. But only if you’re someone who understands goblin culture.”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Bae Yong-su laughed and spoke.
“Sir, I’m a ghost, and this fellow is the owner of the Afterlife Restaurant. How could we not understand goblin culture?”
“Do you want to go now?”
“Now?”
“You all seem to have free time anyway. Why wait for another day?”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s suggestion, Lee Gang-jin looked at Bae Yong-su and the other ghosts and asked.
“I’m curious and would like to visit. What about the rest of you?”
“I’m curious too.”
“I’d like to go.”
Lee Gang-jin smiled and nodded.
Then, turning back to the Dung Carrier Goblin, he stood up and spoke to Yu Tae-poong.
“Call Ok-ja and tell her to prepare some jeon.”
“Jeon?”
“We’ve been treated so well—we should reciprocate.”
“Ah, I see!”
Yu Tae-poong smiled and nodded. Then, calling Jeonjujeon, he glanced at Lee Gang-jin and the ghosts.
“I’ll brew some truly delicious coffee for you at the library.”
“Understood.”
While Yu Tae-poong was ordering the assorted jeon from Choi Ok-ja, the Dung Carrier Goblin grasped the shop door and pulled it open.
Whoosh!
The interior of the Goblin Library came into view.
“Wow!”
At the sight of the library beyond the doorway, Lee Gang-jin gasped in amazement, and Yu Tae-poong, ending the call, smiled and gestured toward the entrance.
“Welcome to the Goblin Library.”
As I spoke and stepped inside, Lee Gang-jin and the ghost employees quietly followed behind me.
Lee Gang-jin and the ghosts looked around with curiosity before speaking.
“The library is incredibly vast.”
“It’s where the goblins have collected books since ancient times.”
Then I moved toward the counter and spoke.
“Would you care for some coffee?”
“That would be lovely.”
“I’ve already had a cup, but I’ll have another.”
At their response, I began grinding coffee beans.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, I carefully opened my mouth.
“However… our coffee isn’t from the Afterlife, so I’m afraid you might not be able to drink it….”
Lee Gang-jin shook his head.
“Afterlife coffee is certainly the most delicious for ghosts, but we can consume Living World coffee as well. That’s why we eat ritual offerings too.”
“Then how do you eat it?”
“You know in movies and dramas when ghosts eat food and a translucent form separates from the food? Have you seen that?”
“Yes, I’ve seen it. It appears frequently in dramas and films.”
“That’s how we eat.”
“Ah… so that’s actually historically accurate.”
“Exactly.”
Nodding at Lee Gang-jin’s words, I spoke once the beans were sufficiently ground.
“The strength varies depending on how the beans are ground, and since I’m unfamiliar with your preferences, I’ve ground them to a medium level.”
“We’re not particular about coffee taste.”
At Lee Gang-jin’s response, I poured hot water and brewed the coffee. As Lee Gang-jin watched me, his gaze shifted to the books arranged on the shelves as he spoke.
“By the way, would it be alright if we looked at some books?”
At the mention of books, I started to nod but hesitated.
“Perhaps another time.”
“Another time?”
“There are magazines in one corner, but aside from those, every book on the shelves was written by goblins.”
“The goblin brothers write books?”
“Most goblins are writers. They love writing.”
“That’s surprising. They don’t look like the writing type.”
Bae Yong-su whispered softly while looking at the Dung Carrier Goblin. Hearing this, I laughed and spoke.
“Ah! Let me recommend a book for you.”
I turned to look at the Dung Carrier Goblin.
“Brother, could you make a few copies of Lim Ok-beom’s book?”
At my words, the Dung Carrier Goblin raised his hand, and books by Lim Ok-beom flew from the shelves.
Whoosh!
The Dung Carrier Goblin caught the flying book, and as he pulled it apart, another copy appeared in his hand.
After creating four copies this way, the Dung Carrier Goblin placed the books on the counter with a satisfied expression.
“I’m not just saying this because I wrote it—it’s genuinely a wonderful book.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin gazed at the spirits and Lee Gang-jin with eyes brimming with anticipation.
Yu Tae-poong nodded in agreement and pointed toward the book.
“It’s a biography of someone who participated in the Independence Movement during the Japanese occupation. As you’ll see when you read it… this person truly dedicated themselves to independence and made genuine sacrifices for it.”
“I see.”
As Lee Gang-jin reached for the book, Yu Tae-poong spoke up first.
“When you hold and read a book written by a Goblin, the Goblin reads the reader’s thoughts.”
“My thoughts?”
“You know how readers leave comments on web novels? Think of it like that. The Goblin author reads the thoughts that arise in the reader’s mind like comments.”
“If they read thoughts like comments, there must be readers who dislike that.”
“In that case, you can speak while holding the book. Then the Goblin authors will stop reading your thoughts. Instead, they’ll read your emotions like comments.”
“What if I don’t want them reading my emotions either?”
“That can’t be helped. The Goblin authors enjoy reading comments. It might ease your mind to think of it as paying the book price through comments.”
Then Yu Tae-poong poured the coffee he had prepared into a cup and spoke.
“And one more thing… the protagonist of this book was a real person who existed in the past. So please read it with at least basic respect.”
“So it’s a biography of a great person.”
At the mention of a biography, Yu Tae-poong gave a small nod and spoke while looking at the books on the shelves.
“There’s one thing that sets the books in our Goblin Library apart from books in other libraries.”
Yu Tae-poong paused for a moment and looked at Lee Gang-jin.
“It’s that all the protagonists of the books here are real people who either existed in the past or exist in the present.”
“Real people?”
“For example… there could be a book here with you, Lee Gang-jin, as the protagonist.”
“Me?”
As Lee Gang-jin asked in surprise, the Dung Carrier Goblin shook his head.
“We don’t write books about people connected to the Afterlife Restaurant.”
“Why not?”
“Because they’re connected to spirits. And… that person dislikes it.”
“Oh… ah, that person.”
“Right. So we don’t write about anyone connected to the Afterlife Restaurant.”
At their exchange, Lee Gang-jin tilted his head and spoke.
“So there’s no novel about me?”
“That’s right.”
“And… you Goblin brothers write about real people?”
“That’s right.”
“So real people… people around us could become protagonists?”
“Exactly.”
“Don’t… don’t the protagonists dislike it?”
“The protagonists don’t know. They don’t know we’re writing about them. We follow them around secretly to do our research.”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Lee Gang-jin squinted and looked at the book. It seemed he was thinking something similar to what Yu Tae-poong himself was thinking.
“Still, please read this book. If this protagonist were still alive, they would have appreciated their descendants reading their story.”
“Is that so?”
“He is an Independence Fighter whose name was never recorded in history. Though he has been forgotten by history and posterity, if we can remember him, then we should preserve his memory for him.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Lee Gang-jin gazed at the book for a moment before picking it up.
“I understand.”
Then Lee Gang-jin lifted the coffee cup and inhaled its aroma.
“The fragrance is quite pleasant.”
“I brew coffee well.”
Yu Tae-poong smiled gently and suddenly glanced around as he spoke.
“But will the spirits be able to see this book?”
“Of course. If they want to see it, they can.”
Though he said “if they want to,” his voice was filled with the unspoken hope that they would indeed look.
Soon the books began to float up one by one.
Watching the floating books drift toward the table, Lee Gang-jin followed after them and pulled out chairs one by one.
As Lee Gang-jin watched the spirits settle into the chairs one by one, he turned back to Yu Tae-poong.
“There is one thing I’m curious about.”
At Lee Gang-jin’s words, Yu Tae-poong picked up his coffee cup and approached him.
“I imagine it’s about the Goblin writers’ research?”
Lee Gang-jin nodded lightly and glanced subtly at the Dung Carrier Goblin.
“Elder, I have something I’d like to ask if you don’t mind?”
The Dung Carrier Goblin beamed brightly, as if the word “elder” never failed to warm his heart.
“Go ahead, ask away.”
With the Dung Carrier Goblin’s permission, Lee Gang-jin spoke with a smile.
“Would it be alright if I had a quiet conversation with Yu Tae-poong?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin pulled a cloth from his pocket and swung it.
Whoosh!
The cloth unfurled and began to wrap around the two men like a tent. Just before the fabric touched the ground, the Dung Carrier Goblin spoke.
“No one, not even I, will be able to hear the conversation you have inside….”
And with that, the Dung Carrier Goblin’s voice faded away.

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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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