Goblin Library - Chapter 18

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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 18

Leaving Yu Tae-poong with his eyes wide in astonishment, Lim Sung-un glanced casually around the interior of the Bookstore.
“So you really do work at a bookstore.”
At Lim Sung-un’s words, Yu Tae-poong looked at him, then shifted his gaze to the book he was holding.
‘He suddenly told me to organize books… He must have known Lim Sung-un was coming and sent me here to the bookstore.’
Since I was the Bamboo Sword Goblin observing Lim Sung-un, I surely would have known of his arrival.
So rather than meeting at the peculiar Goblin Library itself, he’d sent me here to meet at the Goblin Library Bookstore.
I just wondered why he hadn’t explained it to me.
‘Did he avoid telling me to minimize the author’s interference?’
After all, my reaction knowing Lim Sung-un was coming would differ from my reaction if I didn’t know.
While I was thinking such thoughts, Lim Sung-un picked up a manga from among the books shelved on the rack.
Holding the plastic-wrapped manga, Lim Sung-un spoke.
“Are you so bewildered you can’t speak? About my arrival?”
“Well… yes. How did you find this place?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s question, Lim Sung-un nodded and looked at him.
“Just as you said, a couple of those Rat-faced and Horse-faced spirits attacked me.”
As he spoke, Lim Sung-un rolled up his sleeve. As it was pulled back, bandages wrapped around his forearm became visible.
Seeing blood faintly seeping through the bandage, Yu Tae-poong exclaimed in alarm.
“You’re injured?”
“Not dead, so I got off cheap.”
Then Lim Sung-un met Yu Tae-poong’s gaze.
“Those professionals attacked me from a place I never would have expected.”
“A place you never expected?”
“Usually when people think of a good place to kill someone, they imagine a deserted location. But these guys targeted me in a crowded place.”
Then Lim Sung-un rolled his sleeve back down.
“If I hadn’t remembered what you said, it wouldn’t have been my arm that—”
Tap, tap, tap!
Lim Sung-un pointed to his abdomen and tapped it lightly.
“It would have been here that got stabbed.”
Hearing this, Yu Tae-poong felt he’d done well to share that information. Prosecutor Lim Sung-un would have lost his life outright, and the novel the Bamboo Sword Goblin was pouring his heart into would have ended prematurely.
“So I became curious about you. Who is this person who warned me after learning in advance about a plan to hire such professionals to kill me—or who ordered them to warn me?”
At Lim Sung-un’s words, Yu Tae-poong looked at him and spoke.
“You asked earlier how I found this place… Oh!”
Having figured something out, Yu Tae-poong stopped mid-sentence and gasped.
‘Jang Ma-ru, the genius high school hacker. How did I not think of that?’
The reason Lim Sung-un frequented only one restaurant was explained in the book.
It was so that Jang Ma-ru, the genius high school hacker, could track Lim Sung-un’s movements and identify suspicious individuals through CCTV.
When Yu Tae-poong’s expression shifted to one of understanding, Lim Sung-un observed him before speaking.
“Something’s off.”
“Pardon?”
“Deeply suspicious, in fact.”
Lim Sung-un swept his gaze across the Bookstore before continuing.
“Yu Tae-poong, age twenty-eight. Graduated from university and prepared for employment. Took entrance exams at several Large Corporations but failed them all. Then, just days ago, you landed a job at a bookstore called the Goblin Library Bookstore. A profile utterly unremarkable on the surface, and yet….”
Lim Sung-un looked me up and down as he spoke.
“Everything you’re wearing—your clothes, accessories, shoes—adds up to the price of a foreign luxury car. Yet your family’s financial situation is modest at best. Or perhaps slightly below average? In any case, you’re adorned with luxury brands that don’t fit at all. A neighborhood bookstore wouldn’t pay that kind of salary….”
Lim Sung-un leaned against the bookshelf, studying me.
“So… what exactly are you?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“You…. And this bookstore.”
“I’m just someone who works here, and this is a bookstore, as you can see.”
At my words, Lim Sung-un looked at me, then let out a soft chuckle and shook his head.
“True enough—it would be strange if you answered honestly when asked.”
Then Lim Sung-un spoke.
“From what I’ve learned, there’s nothing overtly illegal about you. But remember this: you cannot hide the sky in the palm of your hand. If you’re concealing something dishonorable, it will eventually come to light.”
With that, Lim Sung-un left the bookstore. As I watched him disappear, I squinted and stepped outside.
“Wait.”
At my call, Lim Sung-un turned to look at me. Seeing the question in his gaze, I folded my arms and spoke.
“You haven’t said thank you.”
“What?”
“Whether I’m suspicious or not… you’re alive because of the warning I gave you, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you at least say thank you?”
At my words, Lim Sung-un paused. After a moment, he nodded.
“You’re right.”
Lim Sung-un pulled a business card from his inner pocket and extended it to me.
As I took it, Lim Sung-un spoke.
“Call me if you ever need legal advice or assistance. As long as it’s not serious crime or harm to others, I’ll help you as much as I can.”
At his words, I squinted.
“Don’t you have a simple ‘thank you’ for me?”
“Choose one. This business card or my expression of gratitude. For what it’s worth, just as you saved my life, this card might protect yours or something precious to you.”
I stared at the card in my hand, lost in thought for a moment. Then I pressed it back into Lim Sung-un’s palm.
“I’ll take your gratitude instead.”
Lim Sung-un looked at me with surprise, then returned the card to his pocket and bowed respectfully.
“Thank you for the warning.”
I nodded in response and spoke.
“I can’t tell you where I learned that information, and even if I did, you wouldn’t understand it. I simply happened to know about it, and I warned you because I thought fewer people would shed tears if you lived. Continue to do your duty as a prosecutor.”
Then I entered the Goblin Library Bookstore. Even after I disappeared inside, Lim Sung-un stood motionless, staring at the bookstore entrance before letting out a soft laugh and turning away.
“…Is this still just luck?”
Recalling my answer to his earlier question of who I was, Lim Sung-un continued walking.

Through the gaps in the window blinds, I watched Lim Sung-un recede into the distance, and I smacked my lips in regret.
‘Should have taken his business card.’
From what I’d read, Lim Sung-un wielded considerable influence not only as a prosecutor but in other spheres as well.
A business card from someone of his caliber would have proven invaluable if I or my family ever found ourselves in trouble.
I shook my head, reconsidering whether I should have accepted it. But it was already too late.
“Rude bastard.”
A voice came from beside me in response to my muttering.
“He certainly doesn’t know how to handle people.”
Flinch!
I turned my head at the sudden sound. The Bamboo Sword Goblin stood beside me—I had no idea when he’d arrived—gazing out the window.
“At least he survived.”
The Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded at my words.
“He was fortunate.”
As he spoke, the Bamboo Sword Goblin looked at me.
“I didn’t warn you about Lim Sung-un’s arrival beforehand.”
“I understand. If I’d known in advance, you would have interfered with the narrative.”
The Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded.
“Since we’ve successfully avoided this calamity, there shouldn’t be any problems until the next episode unfolds.”
“That’s a relief.”
I felt reassured knowing that Lim Sung-un wouldn’t face any death threats for a while.
Despite his lack of manners, Lim Sung-un was skilled at catching bad people—a rude man with a talent for justice.
“I’m leaving.”
As the Bamboo Sword Goblin turned to go, I hastily asked the question that had been nagging at me.
“By the way, who manages this place?”
The bookstore’s books were organized, and there were clear signs of cleaning. But it wasn’t me, and it certainly wasn’t the Bamboo Sword Goblin.
I wondered who was responsible for maintaining it.
“A part-time worker comes every Sunday to organize and clean.”
“A part-timer? Are there other employees besides me?”
“The place still needs to be maintained.”
“Then… does that person also know about the boss?”
The Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded at my question.
“Choi Ok-ja’s granddaughter.”
“Choi Ok-ja?”
Wondering who that was, the Bamboo Sword Goblin explained.
“The owner of Jeonjujeon. Choi Ok-ja.”
“Her granddaughter also knows the boss? Does that mean everyone in that family knows about goblins?”
The Bamboo Sword Goblin shook his head.
“Some of them know, but not all.”
As he spoke, the Bamboo Sword Goblin left the bookstore, and I followed behind him.
As Yu Tae-poong stepped out and closed the door behind me, the Bamboo Sword Goblin continued speaking.
“There’s nothing good about a human knowing of Spirit Servants like us goblins.”
“Spirit Servants?”
It was a word I’d heard in passing once before.
As I murmured, wondering what it meant, the Bamboo Sword Goblin glanced at me.
“We’ve been forgotten by humans so thoroughly that you don’t even understand the word Spirit Servants.”
There was something bittersweet in the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s tone, and I felt as though I’d committed some offense. It was as if I should have known something I didn’t.
Seeing my expression, the Bamboo Sword Goblin shook his head.
“Spirit Servants… it refers to goblins and ghosts.”
“I see.”
“Secrets don’t always remain secrets. So sometimes humans come to know of us. When that happens, we simply continue as we are. Like Choi Ok-ja and the part-timer.”
“I see.”
Nodding, I opened the Goblin Library door again.
Click!
Through the open door came the familiar interior of the Goblin Library.
As I stepped inside, the Bamboo Sword Goblin spoke to me.
“Hmm. I’ve written Lim Sung-un’s story up to today.”
“So there’s the part where he meets the killer too, then.”
“That’s right. If you want to see it… go ahead.”
The Bamboo Sword Goblin spoke as though indifferent to whether I looked or not, then moved toward the door to his room.
Knowing the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s true feelings, I chuckled softly and picked up Lim Sung-un’s book from the table where I always sat.
Opening it, I found the last section I’d read before. Flipping through the pages, there were quite a few more written pages beyond that.
He hadn’t updated the novel for days, but it seemed he’d posted everything at once today.
With that, I began reading the book.

***

Lim Sung-un stepped into a coffee shop with only a handful of tables.
This was his regular spot, the place he stopped by to grab coffee every morning on his way to work.
The prices were reasonable and the coffee was excellent, which was why so many people frequented it.
Standing in line behind the other customers, Lim Sung-un pulled out his phone and began searching for today’s news.
‘Hmm… drunk driving and assault on a police officer.’
It was a story about someone who’d driven under the influence attacking a police officer conducting a traffic stop.
Crimes he particularly despised. Drunk driving and assaulting law enforcement.
‘Which jurisdiction was it…’
Ding!
Lost in thought, Lim Sung-un lifted his head at the chime of the door opening. And then something caught his eye. Nothing particularly remarkable.
It was the mirror on the dessert display case that faced the shop entrance.
And in it, he saw two men entering.
The moment he saw them, Lim Sung-un recalled words he’d heard from that strange man days ago.
‘Rat-faced, horse-faced.’
One had a diminutive build with a cunning expression, while the other had an elongated face. They literally resembled a rat and a horse in appearance.
Lim Sung-un gripped the handle of his briefcase tightly, his gaze fixed on the two men reflected in the mirror.
The two men approached naturally from behind him.
And then…
Whoosh!
As he extended his wrist forward, a blade dropped from his sleeve with a sharp sound.
The instant the knife appeared, Lim Sung-un spun around and raised his briefcase to his chest.
And then… the blade drove straight into the briefcase.
Thud!
The leather bag was stuffed with documents, so the knife didn’t penetrate deeply and came to a halt.
But the blade didn’t stop there.
Slash!
The knife tore upward, ripping through the leather as the blade surged upward, and Lim Sung-un’s arm was cut.
Searing pain!
Feeling the burning sensation in his forearm, Lim Sung-un let out a small groan.
‘Ugh…!’

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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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