Goblin Library - Chapter 153

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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 153.

Pot Goblin opened Oh Mi-hee’s book and began reading slowly. Yu Tae-poong observed her and asked.
“You enjoy food, don’t you, Pot Goblin?”
“Food and I are inseparable.”
A pot and food were practically one and the same—after all, food was prepared in pots.
“There’s a restaurant that improved its recipes based on Oh Mi-hee’s advice, and it’s quite excellent. Let’s go together next time.”
“The most hollow promise in the world is ‘next time.’ Let’s go this evening.”
“That works too.”
Yu Tae-poong nodded and pulled out his phone.
“Then let’s find a menu that our dear Pot Goblin will truly enjoy.”
He navigated to Oh Mi-hee’s channel and began scrolling through the broadcast thumbnails.
He’d been visiting the restaurants Oh Mi-hee featured lately as a hobby, so he’d already been to most of the places on her channel.
‘Which one would be best? Since she’s a pot, would she prefer broth dishes?’
Thinking that a pot would naturally have an affinity for broth-based dishes, Yu Tae-poong asked.
“Do you enjoy broth dishes?”
Pot Goblin laughed at his words.
“Did you assume I like broth just because I’m a pot?”
“Yes.”
As Yu Tae-poong smiled and nodded, Pot Goblin spoke.
“Long ago, pots weren’t used only for broth. We stir-fried in them, made pancakes on the pot lids, and did everything. So I’m not picky about food. Well, actually I am picky.”
“Is there something you can’t eat?”
“Tasteless food. I can’t eat that.”
At Pot Goblin’s laughing words, Yu Tae-poong chuckled as well.
As Yu Tae-poong refocused on his phone, Pot Goblin suddenly snapped her fingers.
Snap!
Then Pot Goblin pulled out her phone and called someone.
“Sik-tam, it’s me. Where’s Oh Mi-hee today? I have something for you and something for Oh Mi-hee too. Yeah. Oh! Really? Got it.”
After hanging up, Pot Goblin looked at Yu Tae-poong with a smile.
“I’ve decided on the evening location.”
“Are you going to see Oh Mi-hee?”
“I received these to give to acquaintances—how many goblins do you think would be happy to receive them?”
Pot Goblin tapped the stack of Hong-ae’s books beside her and spoke.
“I’ll give one to Sik-tam and one to Mi-hee.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“And… wouldn’t it be good if what Mi-hee carries gets exposed on her broadcast as a YouTuber?”
“You thought that far ahead?”
“Since the book contains valuable content, it would be wonderful for many people to see it. It truly has much to teach.”
Pot Goblin was placing books into a shopping bag when Yu Tae-poong spoke.
“But Oh Mi-hee doesn’t have many YouTube subscribers, so it probably won’t help much.”
“Help or not, if even one person buys and watches after seeing the broadcast, that’s one less book in inventory. Every bit helps.”
“You’re worried about inventory?”
“The Publishing House owner told me that once a year they take unsold book inventory to the incinerator and burn it all. He said he smokes several packs of cigarettes every time that happens.”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong looked at the book with a puzzled expression and asked.
“Why burn books? If they don’t sell, couldn’t they be recycled or put on the secondhand market?”
“The moment books hit the secondhand market, the ones in bookstores stop selling. These days, people search for used books online too.”
“Ah… you’re right, the secondhand book market online is thriving.”
With just an internet search, listings for used books that were practically new but far cheaper would pop up endlessly. Yu Tae-poong had bought used books online that way before.
“What about recycling then?”
“If they put them out for recycling, the perfectly good books end up on the secondhand market anyway. That’s why they incinerate them. Or they donate to military bases.”
“Right. They could just donate to the military.”
I didn’t see why incineration was necessary. Books are made to be read by someone… if they’re never read and just burned, that’s a waste of resources.
And it’s such a shame.
“They do donate books suitable for military bases, but books deemed inappropriate in content or subject matter by military standards don’t get donated.”
Pot Goblin shook her head, placed the books in the shopping bag, and checked her watch.
“There’s still time before dinner, so I should read a bit more.”
As Pot Goblin opened Oh Mi-hee’s book again, Yu Tae-poong asked.
“So what’s for dinner?”
“Chicken feet.”
“Chicken feet?”
“You don’t like chicken feet?”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong smacked his lips.
“It’s not that I dislike it… but it’s such a hassle to eat.”
“It’s not that troublesome once you know the trick. I’ll show you.”
At Pot Goblin’s smiling words, Yu Tae-poong muttered to himself.
‘Such a hassle to eat.’
I don’t dislike chicken feet. I just don’t particularly like them either. It’s more of an eat-if-it’s-there, skip-if-it’s-not kind of thing.
But I definitely thought the effort required to eat them far outweighed how little actual meat you got.

Yu Tae-poong and his group were entering a Spicy Chicken Feet Restaurant in Gyeonggi Province.
“Oh Mi-hee said she’d arrive in about five minutes. Let’s go in first.”
“Wouldn’t it be fine if we went in together in five minutes?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, the Pot Goblin laughed.
“We didn’t make plans to meet here, did we?”
“Ah, that’s right.”
“If we’re already seated, she won’t think it’s strange.”
Korea may be small, but the odds of running into someone by chance at a restaurant—especially one in a different area far from where you normally live—were virtually nonexistent.
That’s why they’d come in first. It was already pushing the limits of what could be called a coincidence, and if they were to meet right at the entrance, it would raise even more suspicion.
The Pot Goblin, now seated, looked over the menu and spoke.
“Spicy chicken feet, boneless spicy chicken feet. And one steamed egg… how do you serve the rice balls?”
“With what you’ve ordered, one serving should be more than enough.”
“Then give me two.”
At the Pot Goblin’s words, the Factory Employee didn’t bother mentioning that the portion was too large and simply took the order.
Shortly after, the Factory Employee returned with the side dishes. There weren’t many varieties.
Just radish water kimchi broth that paired well with spicy chicken feet, pickled radish, and seasoned bean sprouts with sesame oil.
But one thing was unusual…
“Is this complimentary?”
Fried chicken feet and chicken gizzards served on a small plate.
“We serve it free before the main dishes arrive.”
“Can we get refills?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s question, the Factory Employee smiled and pointed to the wall.

「Additional fried chicken feet and gizzards: 2,000 won additional charge.」

“Ah….”
Yu Tae-poong nodded. It would be unreasonable to keep refilling a menu item for free when it could be sold.
“Some customers who really enjoy it order additional servings up to five times.”
As the Factory Employee turned and headed to another table to serve, Yu Tae-poong looked at the chicken feet and intestines, picked one up, dipped it lightly in salt, and put it in his mouth.
It was still warm and crispy, as if it had just been fried.
“This tastes good.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Pot Goblin picked up a fried chicken foot, put it in her mouth, and chewed.
“It’s a bit hard, but… the oil flavor is savory and nice.”
“People with bad teeth would probably have a hard time eating this.”
As Dung Carrier Goblin also ate the fried chicken feet and offered her opinion, Yu Tae-poong laughed.
“Well, since it’s fried chicken feet, there’s no helping it.”
While eating the chicken feet and intestines and waiting for their ordered dishes, the door opened and Oh Mi-hee entered.
“Hello.”
Oh Mi-hee, who had come inside, spoke to the Factory Employee with a slightly nervous expression.
“I’d like to film myself eating alone—would that be okay?”
“Are you doing a mukbang?”
“Yes.”
“Then… YouTube?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your channel name?”
The Factory Employee, having encountered this situation many times before, asked a few questions in a practiced manner. Oh Mi-hee told him her channel name and added that she didn’t have many subscribers yet.
The Factory Employee then searched for the channel and said:
“I’ll ask the owner and come back. Just a moment.”
As the Factory Employee took his phone and went into the kitchen, Oh Mi-hee looked around the restaurant.
And her face lit up with delight.
“Oh my! Unnie!”
At Oh Mi-hee’s call, several female customers turned to look at her, thinking she might be calling them at the word “unnie.”
And among them, naturally, was Pot Goblin.
“Mi-hee?”
Pot Goblin, feigning surprise, smiled as Oh Mi-hee approached her.
“How did you end up here?”
“I heard it was delicious, so I came. What about you?”
“Same here.”
“It’s already hard to run into each other like this at a restaurant even when we live in the same Seoul, but meeting here in Gyeonggi Province—how much more unlikely could it be?”
“I guess we’re destined to meet.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, Pot Goblin laughed and pointed to an empty seat.
“Sit here. Oh, if you’re going to broadcast, do you need to sit alone?”
“I haven’t gotten permission to broadcast yet. And even if I do, I’ll just set up a camera here to film only me eating and the food, so we can share a table.”
As Oh Mi-hee spoke and sat down, she looked toward the kitchen. The Factory Employee still hadn’t returned from talking with the owner.
“Try some of this.”
When Yu Tae-poong pointed to the fried chicken feet, Oh Mi-hee picked up her chopsticks and grabbed a piece of the fried dish.
“The spicy chicken feet here are delicious, but I’ve heard the fried ones are quite the delicacy too.”
“You certainly did your research.”
“I had to prepare before coming all the way from Seoul.”
As she spoke, Oh Mi-hee pulled a small packet of seasoned salt from her bag—the kind of salt packet that comes with roasted chicken from the Roasted Chicken Vendor.
“There’s salt here, but you brought your own?”
“The sesame salt here is good, but fried dishes really go best with roasted chicken salt.”
Oh Mi-hee tore open the packet and poured the salt into a small dish on the side. Then she dipped the chicken feet in the roasted chicken salt and took a bite, remarking:
“It really does pair perfectly with roasted chicken salt.”
“That’s because roasted chicken salt is flavored salt. Different brands mix in pepper and other seasonings separately, which makes it taste even better.”
Pot Goblin smiled as she looked at Oh Mi-hee.
Just then, the Factory Employee came out from the kitchen and glanced around the counter, noticing Oh Mi-hee wasn’t there.
Upon spotting her seated at the table, he approached.
“Excuse me?”
Oh Mi-hee answered with a smile to the puzzled employee.
“I know these people, so I’m sharing their table.”
“The owner said it’s fine for us to film.”
“Thank you. Then I’ll have… just the same amount as what they ordered.”
The Factory Employee hesitated at Oh Mi-hee’s words.
“That’s enough for four people though?”
“That’s fine, bring it all.”
“Understood.”
“Oh! And I’d like to add an order of the fried ones too.”
After the Factory Employee took the order and left, Oh Mi-hee smiled and pulled out her camera.
As Pot Goblin watched her set up the camera on the table, she quietly pulled a book from her shopping bag and handed it over.
“My new book just came out. I’ll give you a copy.”
“Oh my! Your book is out? You didn’t have to—I could have bought it myself.”
Oh Mi-hee accepted the book with a smile, and Pot Goblin smiled back, saying:
“You can still buy it.”
“Pardon?”
“Good books should be shared. Read it, and if you like it, buy copies to give to your friends as gifts.”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Oh Mi-hee nodded with a smile.
“That works perfectly. I love giving books as gifts too. If I enjoy it after reading, I’ll definitely buy several copies.”
“Well, not several… but if you like it after reading, then sure.”
As they chatted and laughed, the Factory Employee returned with the ordered dishes. The table was now filled with all the items Oh Mi-hee and Yu Tae-poong’s group had ordered.
Pot Goblin then put on plastic gloves and looked at Oh Mi-hee. Oh Mi-hee was photographing the food with her camera when she smiled and said:
“Please, eat comfortably.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, Pot Goblin nodded and picked up some of the spicy chicken feet, showing Yu Tae-poong how to eat them.

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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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