Goblin Library - Chapter 19

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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 19

“Ugh…!”
A groan escaped my lips as blood sprayed into the air.
Whoosh!
In that same instant, the Rat-faced Man beside him thrust his blade toward Lim Sung-un’s throat.
Lim Sung-un threw himself sideways to evade.
Crash!
It was an utterly crude method of dodging—he’d launched himself full-force into a cafe table in a desperate dive.
The tables he collided with toppled over, and only then did the cafe patrons notice them and cry out in alarm.
“Ahhhhh!”
“What… what is this?!”
Screams and confused murmurs erupted throughout the cafe. Until that moment, the two men’s assault and Lim Sung-un’s response had been so swift that no one had noticed a thing.
“Ugh!”
With a grunt, I looked at the two men.
In retrospect, that evasion had been a terrible choice. By falling, I’d limited my mobility and made it even harder to escape the two assassins.
But I wasn’t worried. All I needed was to break free from their range, even if only for a moment.
And then…
Crash! Shatter!
A man burst through the cafe door with a thunderous sound.
The Masked Man smashed through the glass door and charged straight at the Horse-faced Man, driving his fist toward his solar plexus.
Thud!
“Hgh…!”
The Horse-faced Man, unable to even scream properly and gasping for breath, was about to drop to his knees when the Rat-faced Man lunged at the newcomer with his blade.
Slash!
But the blade never found its mark. The man simply kicked the Rat-faced Man’s knee with a front kick.
Crack!
“Ahhhhh!”
The Rat-faced Man’s leg bent at an angle it shouldn’t, and he collapsed.
As he fell, the man’s fist connected with his face.
Thud!
Bang!
The Rat-faced Man went down and didn’t move again.
The man watching the two attackers—Choi Tae-sik, a fighter who worked under Lim Sung-un—pulled cable ties from his pocket.
He quickly bound the wrists of the fallen men.
Zip! Zip!
With both men restrained, Choi Tae-sik looked at Lim Sung-un with worried eyes. Blood was still streaming from my arm.
I nodded slightly.
It’s fine, he said.
Choi Tae-sik nodded in agreement, then turned to look at the shocked faces of the people around us.
“I’ll call the police.”
With that, he hurried out of the cafe and disappeared. The dazed cafe owner finally came to his senses and quickly pulled out his phone to make a report.
Lim Sung-un groaned as he pushed himself up, then approached the two fallen men and searched their pockets.
His eyes narrowed. Passports and plane tickets to China fell out of their pockets. The departure time was only a few hours away.
“So you were going to stab me and immediately flee to China?”
If these bastards had executed their plan flawlessly—stabbing me in one swift motion, escaping in their prepared vehicle, and crossing into China—it would have been nearly impossible to catch them.
No, I wouldn’t have caught them.

***

Taepung murmured while reading the book that ended with Lim Sung-un getting into a car to come meet me.
“But why did they carry out the plan in such a crowded place?”
I was puzzled why such meticulous people, who had planned everything down to fleeing directly to China, would deliberately commit the act in a populated area.
[Because it was scheduled.]
At the sudden voice of the Bamboo Sword Goblin, Taepung looked at the book.
“Scheduled?”
[The most crucial part of their plan was to harm Lim Sung-un and then board a plane to China immediately. So they had to execute it precisely on schedule. Since they didn’t know when Lim Sung-un would go to a deserted place, they had to follow his regular routine. That’s why they chose that location and carried out the plan. Their scheme was to finish the job quickly, escape on a prepared motorcycle, switch to a car in a nearby building’s parking lot, and drive away.]
“Ah…”
As Taepung nodded as if understanding, the Bamboo Sword Goblin added:
[But it’s useless now. No matter how well a plan is laid out, if it fails, the plan is worthless.]
“I see.”
Taepung nodded.
The Bamboo Sword Goblin spoke to Taepung.
[Close the book and open it again.]
“Pardon?”
[Close it and open it.]
At the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s words, Taepung looked at the book with confusion, then did as instructed—closing and reopening it.
And Taepung’s eyes sparkled.
Between the pages lay a thin piece of gold, slightly larger than a fingernail.
[Payment for your appearance and ideas.]
“Oh! Thank you so much!”
Taepung bowed deeply toward the book before picking up the gold piece. Though small, it had a substantial weight—truly, gold was gold.
Taepung turned the gold piece over in my hands.
‘If I collect a few more pieces like this, I could make Mom a gold ring.’
What I received now seemed heavy enough to work with, but I wanted to make it thicker and larger for her.
With happy thoughts, Taepung walked to the counter with a smile. I carefully wrapped the gold piece in a tissue and placed it in my pocket.
‘Working here isn’t really so bad after all.’
Truth be told, aside from the burden that came from living alongside a legendary creature called a goblin, there was no reason the Goblin Library would be unpleasant.
Good salary, comprehensive insurance coverage, stable commute hours—that’s what matters.
I smiled pleasantly and placed Lim Sung-un’s book on the shelf display.
‘I’ll read it again once there’s a new update.’
Humming contentedly, I looked around, retrieved a dry cloth, and began wiping down the desks.
I’d already cleaned once this morning, and no one—no Goblins—had visited since, so the desks were still spotless, but I wanted to do something anyway.
‘There was some actress who said something like this before… when asked why she acted so well, she said “because I get paid,” didn’t she?’
The actress known as the nation’s mother had appeared on a variety show and given that answer when asked how she could act so brilliantly. If you’re paid, you should give your all.
Recalling those words and smiling, I began cleaning diligently.

***

I had Kim Hyang-i’s book open while brewing coffee.
Whoosh!
Watching the hot water flow over the ground beans, I turned the page.
Unlike the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s book, which had no illustrations whatsoever, Kim Hyang-i’s book was filled with them, making it easy to learn coffee-brewing techniques.
‘By the way, Da-hyang Goblin really does draw well.’
While the illustrations weren’t photorealistic, the warm, pleasant use of color made it feel as though the aroma of fragrant coffee emanated from the pages themselves.
That might be why I read Kim Hyang-i’s book so often—to enjoy both the artwork and practice coffee-making simultaneously.
After pouring the coffee, I took a sip and smiled.
“That tastes good.”
In the past, I’d only drunk iced Americanos, savoring the coolness and slight bitterness rather than the coffee’s inherent flavor.
But brewing coffee this way myself, I discovered that the grind size, water-pouring speed, and temperature all affected the taste, creating remarkable variety.
Now I enjoyed that complexity, though I still hadn’t perfected the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s exact preferences.
I turned the page while sipping my coffee.
Rustle! Rustle!
As I flipped through, occasionally pausing at illustrations, my hand suddenly stopped.
The page displayed a beautiful chrysanthemum tea in a delicate glass—surely made from dried chrysanthemums—with the flowers fully bloomed within the glass.
“How beautiful.”
I gazed at the chrysanthemum tea illustration in admiration when a voice reached me.
[Do you… enjoy tea?]
Startled by the soft, gentle voice, I looked at the book and asked.
“Da-hyang Goblin?”
[Yes. Thank you for enjoying my book.]
The soothing voice put me at ease, and it didn’t seem like she was seeking me out for anything troublesome. Smiling, I looked at the book, then a thought occurred to me.
“The book’s protagonist has already passed away, hasn’t she?”
[Of course.]
“So you speak to books whose protagonists are deceased.”
I hadn’t read many books yet, but all the protagonists had been living people.
This was the first time a deceased protagonist’s author had spoken to me.
[Even if the protagonist is dead in reality, within the book they live on as long as someone reads them.]
Typhoon nodded, thinking it was a rather impressive statement.
“I see.”
[You’re the first person I’ve met who has read my book so repeatedly, over and over again.]
“Haven’t many people read it?”
[A few coffee-loving goblins have read it, but they only looked at it once. You’re the first reader who has revisited it so frequently. I’m truly grateful. As a writer, it’s incredibly fulfilling.]
“It’s been very helpful to me.”
[You seem eager to brew coffee well… don’t you enjoy tea?]
At Da-hyang Goblin’s question about tea, Typhoon answered honestly, feeling a bit sheepish.
“The only teas I know are green tea and houttuynia tea, so I’m not very knowledgeable about it.”
[I see.]
Hearing the slight disappointment in her voice, Typhoon asked.
“Do you prefer tea to coffee?”
[No. I enjoy all beverages with pleasant aromas. After all, I was born from the fragrance of tea.]
“Then why did you ask if I liked tea?”
[While coffee’s aroma is wonderful, the fragrances of various teas are equally delightful. I wanted to show you that other fragrances are also beautiful.]
At Da-hyang Goblin’s words, Typhoon spoke while looking at the book.
“Hyang-i had deep knowledge of tea as well as coffee.”
The tea house didn’t sell only coffee. That’s why the book contained information about various types of tea that Kim Hyang-i handled in addition to coffee.
[That’s right. Hyang-i had an excellent sense of smell. She would brew various teas and savor their fragrances.]
Da-hyang Goblin paused briefly, then spoke with a smile.
[That’s why I wanted to talk to you—so you could also enjoy the fragrance of tea.]
“Thank you.”
As Typhoon spoke, a faint light emanated from the book.
Whoosh!
Confused by this unfamiliar phenomenon, Typhoon watched as the light faded again.
[I hope you’ll fully appreciate Da-hyang.]
After Da-hyang Goblin’s soft laughter ceased, her voice was heard no more.
“What was that light just now?”
Typhoon murmured, tilting his head in confusion.
Then, suddenly catching the rich aroma of coffee, he looked at the coffee cup. It contained the coffee he had just brewed. Seeing the faint steam rising, Typhoon picked up the cup and inhaled its fragrance.
“The aroma is wonderful.”
It seemed as though fragrances he had never experienced before were seeping into his nose.
“Mmm!”
Typhoon drew in a long breath through his nose, savoring coffee’s distinctive fragrance with a smile.
The rich, pleasant aroma of coffee lifted his spirits. With that, Typhoon opened the shelf behind the counter.
Behind the shelf were coffee beans from various countries, packaged in small portions.
Beside them were also various teas. As Typhoon examined them one by one, he picked up something called Jukro tea.
“Jukro tea?”
For someone like Typhoon who knew little about tea, the name Jukro tea was unfamiliar.
So he opened the pouch and looked inside, tilting his head. It appeared no different from ordinary green tea powder.
But soon a smile bloomed across Typhoon’s face.
‘It’s like being in a bamboo grove.’
A subtle yet distinct bamboo fragrance wafted from the dried green tea leaves.
Typhoon tilted his head in sudden confusion.
‘Since when did my sense of smell become this keen?’
These were merely dried green tea leaves, not even brewed tea—yet the aroma rose so vividly, as if I had stepped into an actual bamboo forest.
Then Typhoon recalled what Da-hyang Goblin had said moments ago.

-Kim Hyang-i had an excellent sense of smell.

Immediately after those words, a faint light had emanated from the book….
‘Could it be?’

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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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