Goblin Library - Chapter 133

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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 133.

All the illustrations in Lee Yun-jeong’s book were rendered in ink wash painting.
Though executed entirely in black, the varying densities of the ink created depth and tonality, imbuing the work with luminosity and warmth.
“Your brushwork is truly remarkable.”
Yu Tae-poong turned the pages with admiration, his attention drawn more to the illustrations than to the text itself.
The book contained numerous depictions of food and ingredients—vegetables, meats, and other provisions rendered with meticulous care.
“How do you achieve such chromatic richness using only ink wash?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s murmur, a small portrait of Lee Yun-jeong materialized in the book’s margin.
「Though ink is merely black, through its varying densities one can express both light and shadow. Color need not be present to convey color.」
“The explanation alone is difficult to grasp, but seeing your work before me, I understand perfectly. Your mastery of ink wash painting is truly exceptional.”
「Thank you for the kind words.」
In response to Lee Yun-jeong’s reply, Yu Tae-poong continued examining the book before asking.
“Did you study medicine?”
「I did not.」
“Then how do you possess such extensive knowledge of medicinal herbs and ingredients beneficial for various ailments?”
「I cannot speak to this era, but in my time, such knowledge was commonly shared among women in their conversations. Stories of how someone’s stomach troubles were cured by a particular remedy, that sort of thing. Upon hearing such tales, the women would learn to prepare dishes using those ingredients.」
“Ah! That remains true even in this age.”
「Is that so?」
“My mother often learned cooking methods from conversations with other women, and whenever she heard of an ingredient beneficial for something, she would prepare dishes with it.”
Of course, not all such dishes proved palatable. Since the cooking methods were learned only through conversation, they sometimes went awry.
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Lee Yun-jeong smiled and nodded.
「It seems mothers’ hearts remain constant across all eras.」
“I agree entirely. I hope your book proves helpful to many people.”
「The greatest good is when people eat food that is both delicious and nourishing.」
Then Lee Yun-jeong’s illustration faded. Yu Tae-poong gently ran his hand across the book’s surface before rising from his seat.
With nothing to do until quitting time, I thought I might clean the space once more.

Yu Tae-poong sat on the mountainside overlooking the farm, Dung Carrier Goblin beside him.
It was a place he’d visited before, the same location. Yet something was different.
There on the mountainside….
A small house had appeared. Its frame was built from wood, the walls fashioned from clay, and a wooden door hung on one side.
Not large, but not tiny either—it was the size of a typical pavilion you’d find in rural areas.
“Oh, a house appeared?”
“I built it.”
“When?”
“Just now.”
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong looked at him with astonished eyes.
“You built this house after you left earlier?”
“Yeah.”
Yu Tae-poong exclaimed in surprise at Dung Carrier Goblin’s casual tone.
“That’s only been a few hours!”
“I’m a goblin.”
“Ah….”
Yu Tae-poong nodded in understanding, then gazed at the house and spoke.
“But why did you build it?”
“Gangwon Province gets cold in the evenings. We goblins don’t mind, but you humans do.”
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong stepped inside the house to look around.
“Huh? The door’s wide open, but it feels so cozy?”
“I lit a fire in the ondol. The floor will be warm to the touch.”
Yu Tae-poong looked down at the floor. Now that he paid attention, he could feel a pleasant warmth radiating through his socks from beneath his feet.
“That’s nice.”
As Yu Tae-poong stepped back outside, he suddenly asked a question.
“Come to think of it, I once heard a legend that goblins were tricked by some magistrate and built a stone bridge in a single day.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Dung Carrier Goblin squinted before speaking.
“That’s a distortion that happened as the story passed from mouth to mouth.”
“A distortion? So you didn’t build the stone bridge after being tricked?”
“We did build the stone bridge. But we weren’t tricked—it was a wager.”
“A wager?”
“There was a bridge that had to be crossed to go anywhere from the village that magistrate governed. But so much rain fell that the bridge washed away. So the magistrate, troubled by this, went to the place where goblins were said to appear.”
“Such a place existed?”
“Back then, we Spirit Servants lived alongside humans. And since we goblins didn’t harm people carelessly, those who wanted to play or had bold spirits would come find us.”
“Those who wanted to play?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s question, Dung Carrier Goblin spoke.
“Wrestling, for instance. It’s not easy for a human to beat us goblins, but if they win, we reward them handsomely.”
“How could a person possibly beat a goblin at wrestling?”
“If a goblin uses goblin abilities, a human can never win. But when we play, we match our strength to the human opponent’s. If they have true skill, they can win—through wrestling skill alone, or gambling skill alone, as it may be.”
“You match your strength?”
“If you use Goblin powers, you’re not winning through wrestling skill, are you? We Goblins prefer to win fairly when we play. We never use tricks or deception.”
Dung Carrier Goblin, speaking with a smile, returned to his original story.
“Anyway, the magistrate met a Goblin. So the Goblin suggested they play at something—wrestling, gambling, baduk, anything the magistrate was confident about. But then the magistrate said he wanted to make a wager instead. So when the Goblin asked what kind of wager, the magistrate said he’d heard that Goblins were so powerful they could build a mansion as grand as a palace in a single night, and asked if that was true….”

-I’ve heard you can build a mansion as grand as a palace in a single day. Is that true?
-That’s nothing.
-But I simply cannot believe it.
-Are you disrespecting the Goblin?
-Not at all. But how could you possibly build such a grand mansion in a single day?
-How? Would you like me to show you?
-Then instead of a mansion, build a bridge in front of our village.
-A bridge? Why should I?
-A palace is built on land, but a bridge is built over water, so surely a bridge is more impressive, is it not? If you can build a mansion but cannot make a bridge, what does that say?
-Of course I can build it. But I have no reason to.
-Are you backing out because you cannot build it?
-No. I can make it.-
-Then let us make a wager. I will bet that you cannot build it. If you truly do build the bridge, I will concede defeat.
-Fine, you fool. Let’s see if you have anything else to say after you see the bridge I’ve built.

“…So the Goblin built the bridge. And to show just how remarkable he was, he didn’t make it of wood—he made it of stone.”
“Ah—so that’s how it happened. But wait—didn’t the magistrate trick the Goblin?”
With just a few words, he’d manipulated the simple-minded Goblin into building the bridge.
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Dung Carrier Goblin hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Well—it wasn’t really a trick. It was a wager, after all.”
“So what did the Goblin receive for winning the wager?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s question, Dung Carrier Goblin sighed and looked up at the stars scattered across the sky.
The air was so clean in Gangwon Province that the sky was remarkably clear, and the stars shone brilliantly.
“…I lost.”
“What?”
“When the magistrate saw the bridge, he said, ‘I have lost.'”
Then Dung Carrier Goblin sighed.
“When the magistrate said he’d lost and gazed at the bridge with a satisfied expression, that’s when the Goblin realized he’d been outwitted. But he couldn’t demand payment from the magistrate. Nothing had been wagered in the bet itself. The wager was simply whether or not a bridge could be built in a single night.”
“That’s true.”
“So the Goblin left with a laugh. It had been a long time since he’d been outsmarted, and he found it amusing.”
“Didn’t the magistrate suffer any misfortune from the Goblin?”
“There was no reason for it. It was just a wager, after all.”
Dung Carrier Goblin spoke with a laugh.
“And he was magnanimous.”
“Magnanimous?”
“In those days, people believed in Goblins and feared them. I mentioned that people came to play, but truthfully, most of them had simply taken a wrong path or come as a lark, dismissing rumors that it was where Goblins lived. Very few came intentionally.”
“Of course.”
“But that magistrate was the first to deliberately seek out a Goblin and make a wager. So it was entertaining for the Goblin too.”
Then Dung Carrier Goblin looked at Yu Tae-poong.
“And the Goblin wasn’t deceived at all. He simply endured it.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“It’s not. Not at all.”
Yu Tae-poong chuckled softly at the sight of Dung Carrier Goblin nodding repeatedly.
It seemed they refused to admit they’d been fooled, likely out of pride.
As they conversed, Dung Carrier Goblin turned his head. Following his gaze, Yu Tae-poong saw a car ascending the mountainside from below, its headlights cutting through the darkness.
“They’re here. Let’s prepare.”
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong inspected the Hwaro in front of the home. There were four of them in total.
Inside each Hwaro, charcoal glowed brilliantly, radiating a deep crimson light.
“But why did you prepare four Hwaro?”
Dung Carrier Goblin answered Yu Tae-poong’s question.
“If we tried to match the pace those gluttons eat, we wouldn’t get a single piece. We need one Hwaro per person to secure our own meat.”
Yu Tae-poong considered this for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
“You’re right. If we tried to keep up with those two’s eating speed, we’d spend the whole time grilling meat.”
“Exactly.”
As Dung Carrier Goblin began preparing for the meal, the car pulled up nearby and stopped.
Gluttony Goblin and Oh Mi-hee stepped out of the vehicle.
“Wow, this place is wonderful.”
Yu Tae-poong greeted Oh Mi-hee first as she approached.
“Welcome.”
“Hello. Thank you so much for inviting us.”
As Oh Mi-hee smiled and returned the greeting, Dung Carrier Goblin gestured toward the Hwaro.
“You mentioned you came to Gangwon Province for a culinary adventure, so I thought we’d share some grilled meat together.”
“Thank you so much.”
Oh Mi-hee bowed and approached the Hwaro, examining the charcoal.
“Wow, look at this charcoal.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s remark, Yu Tae-poong looked at the charcoal inside the Hwaro. It was shaped like chunks of wood.
The charcoal he’d typically seen at meat restaurants was either a hexagonal prism with a hole in the center, or shaped like wood that had been split or broken. But this looked like wood that had been cut cleanly and left intact.
“I don’t know much about charcoal either, but this looks really good.”
Oh Mi-hee nodded at Yu Tae-poong’s comment.
“It looks even better than the charcoal I saw at a charcoal grill restaurant in Gangnam. They said that charcoal was high quality too.”
Hearing this, Dung Carrier Goblin opened a rice sack beside him. Then he took out two chunks of wood-shaped charcoal and struck them together.
Clang! Clang!
“Wow, listen to that sound.”
“What kind of charcoal makes a sound like metal striking metal?”
At Yu Tae-poong and Oh Mi-hee’s astonished remarks, Gluttony Goblin laughed and spoke.
“It’s binchotan—the finest charcoal there is.”
“Binchotan charcoal?”
“It’s a long story to explain, but just think of it as excellent for grilling meat. Well-made charcoal produces a metallic ring when struck like this.”
Gluttony Goblin struck the two pieces of charcoal together once more.
Clang! Clang!
Watching this, Yu Tae-poong picked up a piece of charcoal himself and tapped it curiously. It fascinated him that such a metallic sound could emerge from what was clearly wood-based charcoal.
Clang! Clang!

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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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