Goblin Library - Chapter 14

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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 14

Lim Sung-un’s writing was undeniably engaging. While I wasn’t particularly fond of thrillers, Bamboo Sword Goblin knew how to craft a compelling narrative.
Unlike Dung Carrier Goblin and Pot Goblin, who wrote exclusively from the protagonist’s perspective, Bamboo Sword Goblin wove together the stories of the main character and those surrounding them.
This made the narrative flow feel natural, and it was easy to understand why the story progressed as it did.
Moreover, Lim Sung-un’s stories possessed a deeply satisfying quality.
‘So this is how you catch a rapist like that.’
There had been a sensational rape case last year—one where a woman was beaten unconscious before being assaulted. The arrested perpetrator denied the sexual assault, claiming he had only beaten her.
Not only that, he claimed to have a mental illness and submitted letters of remorse, attempting to receive a reduced sentence, which only fueled public outrage further.
In response, Lim Sung-un used the inmates in the Prison to subject that perpetrator to collective harassment.

“If he claims to have a mental illness, then let’s give him a real one. If he writes letters of remorse… then let’s make him truly repent.”

He issued these orders with such dialogue, and while it was illegal and improper, it was deeply satisfying.
The man sought to reduce his sentence by claiming mental illness, so they made him genuinely mentally ill through torment.
And since he wrote letters claiming remorse, they tormented him until he truly reflected on his crimes.
Of course, Lim Sung-un’s harassment existed separately from legal punishment. Ultimately, the perpetrator withdrew his claims of mental illness and remorse letters under the weight of harassment and threats, then faced legal punishment accordingly.
While he had responded to other criminals with meticulously laid plans, this time he simply handled the matter with fists and intimidation alone.
As I felt that satisfaction while reading, I suddenly spoke.
“But he only gives sentences according to the law.”
He catches the wicked and shows no mercy to those who employ tricks to reduce their sentences. If legal methods won’t work, he employs illegal ones.
Yet when it comes to sentencing, he always recommends punishment strictly according to the law.
I found this unexpected, given how much he despises criminals—I would have thought he’d push for harsher sentences.
Bamboo Sword Goblin’s voice reached my ears as I muttered to myself.
[That is who Lim Sung-un is.]
“Pardon?”
[Lim Sung-un recommends sentences based solely on the crimes committed. There is no personal agenda in it.]
“No personal agenda? But from what I read, he punishes them ruthlessly.”
[He acts ruthlessly only when criminals try to evade the consequences of their actions. For those who are arrested for their crimes and face trial without resistance, he simply does his job as a prosecutor, nothing more.]
I looked at the book after hearing Bamboo Sword Goblin’s explanation.
“Now that you mention it… he doesn’t really do anything special to ordinary criminals.”
There were plenty of stories about those who evaded the law, but almost none about common offenders.
When they did appear, they were merely stories connecting one case to another.
[The targets of Lim Sung-un’s illegal intervention are those who commit crimes yet brazenly evade punishment through lawyers, money, or power. There’s no reason to employ illegal investigations or force against those the police can arrest and the law can punish.]
“That makes sense.”
As I nodded in agreement, Bamboo Sword Goblin’s voice reached my ears again.
[You’re reading the book slower than expected.]
“I was finishing Dung Carrier Goblin’s book first… I apologize. But I’m truly enjoying this! I think it would make an excellent drama or film.”
Taepung’s words were partly flattery, but genuine sentiment was mixed in as well. When dramas or films of this sort aired, they were entertaining, but people frustrated with the current judicial system would feel a cathartic thrill.
“Now that I think about it, I believe there was a drama like that in the past.”
There had been a drama where the protagonist, who became a prosecutor for revenge, captured bad people.
In that story too, the protagonist was skilled at fighting, and he joined forces with one of the best fighters in the entire nation—a gangster—to apprehend criminals.
[I absolutely did not write this after watching that.]
At the sudden urgency in Bamboo Sword Goblin’s voice, Taepung looked at the book with confusion.
“Pardon?”
When Taepung asked what he meant, Bamboo Sword Goblin, who had been silent for a moment, cleared his throat and spoke.
[Mention of works with similar subject matter is a sensitive issue for writers.]
“Ah… plagiarism?”
[Absolutely not!]
Bamboo Sword Goblin shouted loudly, then caught his breath and continued.
[I wrote this first, and then that drama came out, so strictly speaking, the drama copied my novel.]
“Of course. Your novel is reality, so it cannot be plagiarism.”
[Right, that’s correct. I am a writer of reality, so I cannot commit plagiarism.]
“Exactly. Naturally.”
As Taepung spoke quickly to appease him as much as possible, Bamboo Sword Goblin’s voice softened.
[Good, then we understand each other.]
When Bamboo Sword Goblin’s voice was heard no more, Taepung, who had been quiet for a moment, spoke hesitantly.
“Um, I have one question.”
[What is it?]
“It’s nothing else, but… the pages of the book seem a bit strange.”
[Strange how?]
“I think I should have already finished reading this book based on where I was…”
Taepung opened the book.
Then the page he had been reading appeared immediately. After that, Taepung held the book horizontally and continued speaking.
“This is roughly the middle of the book where I was reading. By page count, this shouldn’t be possible.”
Considering the number of pages I had read, I should have easily finished a novel of this thickness, yet it still only represented half of the total pages.
“And what’s remarkable is that when I open the book, the scene I want to see opens by itself.”
[It contains a human’s entire life. Of course, it doesn’t record everyday things like a diary, but even just the significant moments could span dozens of volumes. That’s why the book’s thickness is compressed into a single volume. To the eye, it’s merely one novel, but inside, it contains pages equivalent to dozens of volumes.]
“Ah…”
As Taepung gazed at the book with wonder, Bamboo Sword Goblin continued.
[That’s why when you open the book, it opens to the page you were reading. Otherwise, it would take too long to find the page you were on.]
“Then what should I do if I want to see a part I read before?”
[You can open the book while thinking about which part you want to see again. Or you can flip the pages backward to find the part you want to read again.]
Taepung nodded in admiration.
“I see. The books here in the Goblin Library are remarkable too.”
[It’s a book that has been passed down through the history of the Goblins.]
At Bamboo Sword Goblin’s words, Taepung, who had been looking at the book, suddenly glanced around the shelves.
“Then perhaps among the books, are there also books about people from the past, not just the living?”
[Of course. During the Joseon Dynasty Era, the Three Kingdoms period, and even before that… we Goblins have been recording the stories of humans with compelling material.]
Taepung asked with bewilderment.
“If it was written during the Joseon Dynasty Era, it should be an old book, but I haven’t seen any books that old?”
If it were a Joseon Dynasty Era book, it would have to be made of hanji paper, but he hadn’t seen any such books while cleaning.
[We Goblins are sensitive to trends. We update our books to match the times.]
Taepung laughed inwardly. The notion that Goblins were sensitive to trends struck him as utterly absurd.
But thinking about it, Bamboo Sword Goblin had said something similar before. He’d mentioned that Goblins couldn’t just wander around in a loincloth forever.
“Wouldn’t it be better to make them as e-books then?”
These days, people read texts as e-books rather than physical books. If we’re talking about trends, e-books were it.
At that, a hint of displeasure crept into Bamboo Sword Goblin’s voice as he answered.
[What are you saying? No matter how much we adapt to the times, books are meant to be read by turning pages. Flicking through them with your fingers isn’t real reading at all.]
“Well… I suppose that’s true.”
While e-books had the advantage of convenience and accessibility anywhere, many book lovers still preferred physical books.
After reading for a moment, Taepung turned the page. Since Bamboo Sword Goblin had stopped talking, he intended to finish reading the book.

***

Whew!
After finishing the cleaning with the macro, Taepung swayed his waist side to side for a moment, then leaned his arm against the wall and stretched.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
Taepung let out soft groans as he rotated his waist in circles and winced.
“I should have built in rest periods when I created the macro.”
I hadn’t realized it when making it, but after several days of cleaning with the macro, I discovered a problem.
My back ached from cleaning for over two hours without any breaks.
Cleaning seemed easy at first glance, but it involved a lot of movements like bending and straightening my waist.
After doing such work continuously for two hours without rest, my back was bound to hurt. Moreover, it wasn’t something that ended after just one day—repeating the same cleaning for several days meant my back now felt so sore I wondered if I needed acupuncture.
Patting my waist, I pulled out the key.
“Should I create a macro with exercises that are good for the back?”
I was too lazy to exercise normally, but if I made a macro for it, I could manage somehow.
Once I created it and turned it on, my body would move on its own.
Thinking I should create an exercise macro to do while watching YouTube at night, I retrieved Bamboo Sword Goblin’s book by Lim Sung-un. Then I made a cup of tea and sat down.
It had been three days since I started reading Lim Sung-un’s book. Yet I still hadn’t finished it.
Dung Carrier Goblin’s novel about Oh Jang-hyuk didn’t have many episodes. It was mostly short stories about power-tripping incidents and his daily life.
In contrast, Lim Sung-un’s stories had so many incidents that the volume was truly substantial.
And a large volume meant….
“There really are a lot of bad people.”
Lim Sung-un’s episodes dealt with people who evaded and mocked the law through money and power, so the large volume essentially meant there were that many villains.
As I turned the page while thinking, the book opened to the exact scene I had stopped at yesterday.
I continued reading.

***

Tap, tap, tap!
Lim Sung-un, who had been lightly tapping his fingers on the papers spread across his desk, looked at the man before him.
He was someone arrested on suspicion of drug possession.
“You have a mental illness?”
At Lim Sung-un’s words, the pale-skinned, handsome young man nodded and crossed his legs.
“Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m doing. Ah! I have no idea how I came to possess drugs. I have a mental illness. This is a diagnosis certificate I received from the hospital.”
The content of his words was polite, but his tone was utterly disrespectful. The arrogant bastard was merely reciting lines with false courtesy.
If this were acting, even a third-rate actor wouldn’t perform so poorly. Observing him, Lim Sung-un spoke.
“Your lawyer must have told you to say it that way.”
The young man didn’t answer. As if Lim Sung-un hadn’t expected one anyway, he continued.
“But it seems your lawyer didn’t coach you on your tone.”
“Sometimes I don’t even know what I’m doing. I have no idea how I came to possess drugs. I have a mental illness. This is a diagnosis certificate I received from the hospital.”
“Looks like your lawyer told you to stick only to what he taught you.”
At Lim Sung-un’s words, the young man irritably picked at his ear with his finger. He said nothing, but his gaze made it abundantly clear that he thought this was already over.
“I’ve been thinking about something….”
Lim Sung-un tapped the papers with his finger again, drawing out his words before asking.
“Why do you think this case was assigned to me? What’s your take on it?”
At the unexpected question, the young man’s eyes widened slightly. He still said nothing, but his gaze was filled with the thought: what does that have to do with anything?
Reading that look, Lim Sung-un continued.
“You need to know….”
Lim Sung-un spoke as if genuinely concerned.
“Usually, people like you who come to me… I’ve detained every single one.”
“Detained?”
The young man inadvertently answered at the word “detained,” then winced as if he’d made a mistake. After that, he clamped his mouth shut again.
“The chief prosecutor really hates me. I do what he tells me not to do, and I scrutinize cases he tells me to let slide.”
His tone shifted to cold, informal speech. Lim Sung-un spoke while looking at the documents on his desk.
“Congressmen’s sons, generals’ sons, heirs of conglomerates… I’ve never given any of them special treatment. I’ve sent them all to prison according to the law. That’s why people like you—typical chaebol third-generation heirs—don’t usually get assigned to me. But the fact that you ended up with me means….”
Lim Sung-un shifted his gaze toward the young man and continued.
“Someone in your family dislikes you enough to have pulled strings. They want you punished according to the law.”
The young man’s face hardened. He couldn’t comprehend what he was hearing.

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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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