Goblin Library - Chapter 13

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

Chapter 13

Grandmother spoke to me as I recalled the colorful silk dress.
“Since it’s a short story like a fairy tale, it might not be very entertaining for you.”
“So there aren’t only long novels here.”
“Colorful Silk likes to write down good stories, beautiful stories one by one. That’s why the main characters change often and the stories are short.”
“I see.”
I spooned rice into my mouth and exchanged various stories with Grandmother.
“Is there anything I should be careful about when dealing with the Goblins?”
“Careful about…. What do you mean, for example?”
“Things I shouldn’t say, or certain behaviors.”
Grandmother laughed at my words.
“I never had to worry about such things.”
“Really? The Goblins seem to hold grudges so firmly that I’d think a mistake could be disastrous.”
“When I was young, I sometimes spoke rudely and played pranks, but my uncles and aunts never got too angry. Of course, I did get scolded.”
Grandmother’s words prompted me to ask.
“I’ve heard that Goblins take revenge for grudges.”
Grandmother nodded as if she understood what I meant.
“You’re afraid of incurring a Goblin’s grudge, aren’t you?”
I licked my lips and nodded honestly.
“Because I’m the price of that grudge.”
Grandmother stopped laughing at my words. When I thought about it, the reason I came to work at the Goblin Library was because my ancestor, Old Man with a Hump, had incurred a Goblin’s grudge.
“You’re right—it’s not something you did yourself, and you’re suffering because of what your ancestor did…. I’m sorry for laughing.”
“It’s fine.”
When I accepted her apology simply, Grandmother nodded gratefully and smiled faintly. Then she offered her opinion.
“Wouldn’t it be fine once you become close?”
“Once we become close?”
“A close friend wouldn’t hold a grudge just because I joked with them or spoke casually to them, right?”
“Ah….”
I licked my lips, understanding what she meant.
“So there’s no standard?”
The standard for closeness differs depending on the person. Seeing me like this, Grandmother spoke.
“The Goblins are non-human beings and can seem a bit frightening… but fundamentally, they enjoy cheerfulness and merriment. So rather than viewing them only as scary, try thinking of them as friends who are a bit stronger and a bit more mischievous.”
Grandmother poured water into a glass and set it before me, then continued.
“Otherwise, working will be difficult.”
I nodded.
“That’s true.”
Even ordinary people feel tension during work or social interactions, but my tension was different.
Working with Goblins was fundamentally different from corporate life—offend them, and you’d face serious consequences.
Grandmother smiled as she watched Tae-poong’s expression.
“Still, reading books here has its perks. I even earn pocket money.”
“Pocket money?”
“When writer Goblins approach me, they usually want to discuss their work.”
“Yes.”
“If I offer them inspiration about their writing, the Goblin uncles reward me with gold.”
“Gold? Real gold?”
Tae-poong’s eyes widened in surprise, and Grandmother nodded.
“Goblins are quite particular about their debts. When they feel helped, they repay the favor.”
“How much gold do they give you?”
Grandmother laughed at Tae-poong’s sparkling eyes.
“You seem delighted just hearing the word ‘gold.'”
“Who doesn’t like gold?”
Tae-poong smiled, and Grandmother nodded in agreement.
“It varies by Goblin, and they don’t give much. Oh! Wait a moment.”
Grandmother rose and approached the counter, opening a drawer to retrieve a small box.
She then quietly offered it to me.
Tae-poong accepted the box. It was surprisingly light.
Clink, clink!
Yet something small inside rattled softly.
When Tae-poong opened the lid, I could see several gold fragments inside.
“Wow, these are all gifts from the Goblins?”
The gold pieces weren’t large—some were the size of trimmed fingernails, others like baby teeth.
But gold is gold, no matter the size. Even the smallest fragment here would easily be worth over a hundred thousand won.
As Tae-poong marveled at the glimmering gold pieces, Grandmother traced her finger across them.
“Sometimes they give just one small piece, other times several.”
Grandmother picked up a tiny fragment to show me.
“It seems Goblins and gold really do go hand in hand.”
Tae-poong nodded at Grandmother’s words and asked.
“But you keep gold like this under the counter?”
While not many pieces, they seemed worth well over a million won. It felt careless to store them so casually.
“I have many close Goblin uncles.”
“Ah….”
Tae-poong immediately understood. If anyone dared steal what the Goblins had given Grandmother, their fortune would be cursed with catastrophic misfortune forever.
Grandmother smiled as she watched my realization.
“If you ever come across gold while working….”
Grandmother pulled a business card from her pocket and handed it to me.

「Daebak Gold & Silver Shop」

It was a business card for a gold and silver shop.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a jeweler I’ve been dealing with since I was young. Try using them.”
“Do I really have to go all the way to Jongno to conduct business?”
There were plenty of gold and silver shops nearby, and the thought of traveling to Jongno seemed unnecessarily cumbersome.
“If it’s just one or two pieces, it’s fine, but if you try to exchange a large amount of gold, you might raise suspicion.”
“That’s a fair point.”
“If you mention I sent you, they’ll purchase it without asking questions.”
As we conversed and ate, the bowl emptied before I knew it.
“Thank you for the meal.”
As I wiped my mouth and stood, Grandmother smiled and spoke.
“Come early tomorrow. We’re all trying to make a living here, so you can’t miss meals.”
“Understood.”
As I smiled back in agreement, Grandmother told me to wait a moment and returned from the kitchen with a shopping bag.
“It’s pajeon. If you get hungry while working, just microwave it and eat.”
“Thank you.”
As I accepted the shopping bag containing the pajeon, a sudden worry made me ask.
“By the way, is it okay to eat at the library?”
The library would smell of food. And while having a simple drink at the library was acceptable, eating a full meal was basic common sense to avoid.
Grandmother laughed at that.
“Bamboo Sword Goblin drinks and has snacks at the library all the time.”
“But that’s the manager….”
“It’s fine. When I was young, we used to grill pork belly and kimchi there.”
“Pork belly at the library?”
“Of course. So if you’re hungry, don’t starve—eat something.”
At Grandmother’s words, I lowered my head and smiled.
“Thanks to you, I feel like I can finally breathe a little easier.”
“Come back for dinner too.”
“I will.”
With a bright voice, I picked up the shopping bag and left Jeonju Jeonjip, returning to the Goblin Library.

***

Bamboo Sword Goblin stood on one building’s rooftop, observing the structure across from her. It was a distance no human could perceive, yet to her eyes, everything appeared crystalline and vivid.
On the opposite building’s rooftop, a well-dressed man in a suit was conversing with someone.
Bamboo Sword Goblin, watching the scene unfold, withdrew a notebook and began jotting down notes.
“Hmm….”
After recording her observations, Bamboo Sword Goblin examined the two men again, her expression betraying some displeasure.
The well-dressed man in the suit was Lim Sung-un, the protagonist of the novel I was writing. The robust young man conversing with him was a fixer working under Lim Sung-un.
Lim Sung-un was currently discussing the apprehension of a criminal with the fixer.
But this troubled me.
“This is dangerous. If things go wrong, Lim Sung-un could find himself in serious trouble.”
If the protagonist disappeared, the novel would end. And that was not the direction I desired.
I flipped through my notebook, reviewing the notes I had written.
Within its pages lay the setting details and brief descriptions of the characters in Lim Sung-un’s story.
“Hmm….”
Examining the settings, I spoke softly.
“What’s the matter?”
Then, from beside me came a cheerful laugh and a response.
“Our Lim Beom was heading this way, and I sensed your presence, so I thought I’d drop by.”
Bamboo Sword Goblin turned her head.
There stood a woman wearing a crimson fedora. It was Pot Goblin.
“Drop by?”
Rather than answering Bamboo Sword Goblin’s question, Pot Goblin glanced at Lim Sung-un across the way and spoke.
“Still writing about such a dull protagonist. Ugh, how cold.”
Bamboo Sword Goblin responded to Pot Goblin’s grumbling tone.
“I chose a prosecutor as my subject because I wanted to write about catching villains. If I wanted to write about good people, I’d write a novel about volunteers.”
At Bamboo Sword Goblin’s words, Pot Goblin let out a soft laugh.
“So as long as he catches the bad guys well, his character doesn’t matter?”
“A blade only needs to cut well.”
“True—a blade is best when it’s sharp.”
At Pot Goblin’s remark, Bamboo Sword Goblin tucked the notebook into her garment and looked at her.
“What did you mean by ‘drop by’?”
At Bamboo Sword Goblin’s question, Pot Goblin gazed at her intently before answering.
“Just thought things might get interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“Our lives have been so dreadfully boring lately. But ever since that human came to the library, things seem like they might become fun. Books that no one ever read now have a reader. So….”
Pot Goblin approached Bamboo Sword Goblin with a smile.
“Well done.”
Pat, pat!
In that instant, as Pot Goblin patted my rear, my hand sliced through the empty air.
Slash!
A line appeared in the space where Pot Goblin had been, as if the air itself were splitting, then vanished.
And from a distance, Pot Goblin laughed.
“Even a goblin would die from a slash like that.”
“That was the intention.”
Bamboo Sword Goblin squinted as he retorted.
Yet Pot Goblin’s laughter did not fade.
“Anyway, read my novel later. I’ve got great material this time.”
With those words, Pot Goblin’s form scattered and vanished.
Bamboo Sword Goblin stared at the spot where Pot Goblin had been, squinting as he brushed dust from his backside with his hand.
Then he turned his attention back to watching Lim Sung-un and the fixer converse in the building across the way, before his gaze drifted into empty space.
“A reader for my books….”
I hadn’t brought Tae-poong here to read my novels, but acquiring a reader for my work, just as Pot Goblin said—that was genuinely amusing.
After dwelling on Tae-poong for a moment, Bamboo Sword Goblin looked back at Lim Sung-un.
What mattered most to me now was the fact that the story Lim Sung-un was currently unfolding was far too dangerous.

***

Swish!
As Tae-poong turned the final page of the book, a blank sheet appeared before him.
After returning from lunch, Tae-poong had been reading through Oh Jang-hyuk’s book and tilted his head in confusion.
“Is there more?”
Oh Jang-hyuk’s story ended with him tidying up the burned house. It wasn’t a complete ending—it felt unfinished.
And at Tae-poong’s words, Dung Carrier Goblin answered as if waiting for the question.
[He’s cleaning right now, so there’s nothing much to write about. That kind of content just needs one line of stage direction: “cleaning in progress.”]
“I see, that makes sense.”
If it were a human novel, I could simply invent the next scene, but a goblin novel transcribes the actual actions of real people.
So unlike human novels, I can’t arbitrarily skip ahead in the narrative and continue as the author pleases.
Tae-poong nodded in understanding, then looked at the book and asked.
“What are his family members doing?”
[The kids went to school. Oh Jang-hyuk and his wife are cleaning and sorting through what’s salvageable.]
“There’s something salvageable after a fire?”
[Can you throw everything away? They’re searching carefully to see if there’s anything worth keeping. So it looks like there won’t be any worthwhile material for several days.]
“So the novel will be on pause during that time?”
[If I write about everyday mundane activities, that’s a diary, not a novel. I’ll write again once a decent episode develops.]
Then Dung Carrier Goblin spoke hesitantly.
[In the meantime, if you get bored, I have other novels… they’re pretty good too….]
“I’ll make time to read them.”
[Thanks. Oh! When I write something new, I’ll tell you then. Read it when I do.]
After finishing his conversation with Dung Carrier Goblin, Tae-poong set the book down.
“Hmm… something feels off.”
While talking about writing with Dung Carrier Goblin, I’d hoped to earn some money, but in the end, I received nothing.
Tae-poong shook his head with a hint of regret, then reached for Lim Sung-un’s book that Bamboo Sword Goblin had been reading earlier.
Having finished Oh Jang-hyuk’s book, he intended to complete the volume of Lim Sung-un’s that he’d left unfinished.
Besides, Lim Sung-un’s book had proven far more engaging anyway.

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