Goblin Library - Chapter 7

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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 7

“Try pressing a person’s name with your finger.”
“But the distance is too far, isn’t it?”
From where I stood, my finger could never possibly reach.
“Imagine pressing it in your mind as you do it. Distance doesn’t matter—as long as you can see the name, that’s all that counts.”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Tae-poong nodded and extended his finger toward the name hovering above Cha Im-beom’s head, mimicking the pressing motion.
Then….

「Cha Im-beom.
The protagonist of Pot Goblin’s novel 【Cha Im-beom】.
Born into a harmonious family. During the employment crisis, he believed becoming a civil servant was the ultimate goal and became a firefighter.
His reason for becoming a firefighter was nothing special, but gradually he developed a sense of responsibility toward the work, and now he carries out his duties with pride.
The way Cha Im-beom is gradually reborn as a firefighter, day by day, is truly heartwarming.」

As Cha Im-beom’s description appeared, Tae-poong looked up in surprise at Pot Goblin, who smiled and spoke.
“When you press a name, a character description written by the author Goblin appears.”
“I never imagined such a function could exist.”
Tae-poong expressed genuine amazement. Names appearing above people’s heads was already astounding, but to have character description windows pop up as well was beyond comprehension.
“As a human, you wouldn’t have seen anything like this before.”
Pot Goblin smiled as she looked at Tae-poong and spoke.
“What do you think, seeing it in person?”
“Seeing someone I read about in a book actually standing before my eyes like this… it still feels like I’m dreaming. It’s all so surreal.”
“Think of books as books, but this as a drama or film.”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Tae-poong looked at Cha Im-beom, then suddenly turned to look at her.
“How is your material coming along?”
“Material? Oh! Material.”
At Tae-poong’s question, Pot Goblin nodded and spoke with a smile.
“I’ve decided to do a collaborative work with Dung Carrier Goblin.”
“Dung… Carrier Goblin?”
“These days, there’s no need for carrying frames for excrement anymore, but long ago, there were people who would scoop up waste from outhouses and transport it. The carrying frame they used was literally a dung carrier, and Dung Carrier Goblin was born from that.”
At Pot Goblin’s kind explanation, Tae-poong nodded and asked.
“Does she write novels too?”
“Most goblins write novels. So Dung Carrier Goblin writes them as well.”
Pot Goblin shook her head as she spoke.
“But Dung Carrier Goblin’s works aren’t popular.”
“Why is that?”
“Because the protagonists in her works are mostly jerks or stubborn old-timers. She always writes characters that people dislike as her main characters. That’s why they’re unpopular.”
“Why would you make such a person your protagonist?”
“Well….”
Pot Goblin glanced sideways at Cha Im-beom before answering.
“I suppose you could say I’m drawn to him?”
“Drawn to him?”
“It’s natural to develop affection for someone who reminds me of the object I was born from.”
“Ah….”
If it were Dung Carrier Goblin, she might have chosen someone people typically despise—a troublemaker or a stubborn old fool.
“But do all goblins originate from objects like that?”
As Yu Tae-poong pondered the pot, bamboo sword, and dung carrier, Pot Goblin nodded.
“Usually, yes. Objects absorb the emotions and hearts of those who use them. There’s no such thing as something used without thought. And when those feelings and emotions grow intense and turbulent, we goblins are born.”
“I see.”
“Of course, there are goblins who don’t originate that way.”
“Then where do those ones come from?”
“Sometimes they arrive as wind, sometimes as rain…. They manifest in many forms.”
Yu Tae-poong nodded at Pot Goblin’s explanation. He didn’t fully understand it, but it seemed there were far more goblins in this era than he’d expected.
“So, are your works read by many people?”
Since Dung Carrier Goblin’s books weren’t read much, I was curious about Pot Goblin’s reception.
At my question, Pot Goblin flinched and quickly changed the subject.
“Oh! Give me your number.”
“My number?”
“Yeah. I’d like to be able to talk with you even when you don’t have my book.”
Pot Goblin smiled and pulled out her phone, looking at Yu Tae-poong. Unable to ignore the gleam in her eyes, he reluctantly gave her his number.
‘The way she changed the subject… it seems Pot Goblin doesn’t have readers either.’
That must be why she greeted me so warmly when I picked up her book.
‘Come to think of it, Bamboo Sword Goblin also seemed to hope I’d read his work.’
It made sense. The very purpose of writing novels is to have others read them. But when no one does, you naturally end up subtly recommending it to those around you. And when a reader finally appears after so long, the joy becomes all the more profound.
As Yu Tae-poong contemplated this, his phone rang.
Ding! Ding!
Yu Tae-poong pulled out his phone and answered, entering the number.

「Pot Goblin」

Pot Goblin, who had exchanged phone numbers with Yu Tae-poong, spoke with a smile.
“I never thought I’d exchange phone numbers with a human.”
“You don’t contact humans?”
“I used to. Back then, I had some close human friends….”
Pot Goblin paused mid-sentence, then continued with a slightly sorrowful expression.
“…but I don’t anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Goblins live long, but humans don’t live long.”
“Ah….”
“So after my close human friends died… I stopped making new friends. Parting ways is… painful.”
Pot Goblin, who had been shaking her head slightly with a bitter expression, looked at Yu Tae-poong again with a bright smile.
“But since you’ll be working at the Goblin Library from now on, we’ll see each other often anyway, so there’s no reason not to become close. If we’re going to be friends, it’s better to become close quickly.”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong smiled.
“You have a really good personality.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Pot Goblin tilted her head and said with a laugh, “Is that so?”
“I suppose it’s because the owners of the pot I was born from had good personalities. We goblins tend to resemble the people who handled us.”
Then Pot Goblin looked toward where Cha Im-beom was.
“The story will progress soon.”
“Today already?”
We had discussed it this morning, but the story would progress this evening?
Seeing Yu Tae-poong’s puzzled expression, Pot Goblin nodded.
“Once the story comes to mind, we proceed right away.”
“But… doesn’t the story require a house fire? The perpetrator won’t know the fire truck is coming to put out the fire at his house, so he needs to block the road… we need a fire first.”
According to what they had discussed this morning, the perpetrator would need to block the fire truck’s path without knowing it was heading to his house to extinguish a fire. For that, a fire had to start.
But there was no way to know when, where, or how a fire would occur. Yet Pot Goblin seemed to know that a fire would start today and that the location would be the perpetrator’s house.
No, she did know. That’s why she said the story would progress.
“Don’t tell me… you’re setting a fire at his house?”
“Me?”
Pot Goblin, looking at Yu Tae-poong as if bewildered, shook her head with a laugh.
“No. We don’t get directly involved.”
“Then you’re indirectly setting the fire?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Pot Goblin laughed.
“Not that either. We don’t recklessly cause trouble like that.”
“Then how do you know a fire will start? And the location too?”
“We don’t start the fire ourselves, but we can know where it will occur.”
“How?”
“Because we’re goblins.”
As she spoke, Pot Goblin raised her finger slightly to show.
Whoosh!
A mysterious blue flame erupted from the tip of Pot Goblin’s finger.
“Is that… goblin fire?”
“You know about it? Most people these days don’t.”
“I’ve just… heard stories about it. In the countryside, they say you shouldn’t follow goblin fire.”
Pot Goblin laughed at Tae-poong’s words and spoke.
“Actually, among the goblin fires that rural people saw in the old days, only a few were real goblin fire. Most of them were just mistaking the eyes of wild boars or tigers for it. That’s why you shouldn’t follow such flames—because you could get hurt by wild animals.”
Pot Goblin spoke while watching the flickering flame dancing on her finger.
“We goblins are close with fire. Since I’m Pot Goblin, I’m especially close with it. That’s why I can sense where fire will occur.”
Tae-poong nodded at Pot Goblin’s explanation.
I suppose if you were born from a pot, you’d have an inseparable relationship with fire.
Understanding Pot Goblin’s words, Tae-poong asked.
“So that house is the one where the troublemaker lives?”
“That’s right.”
Then Pot Goblin looked at Tae-poong.
“What we’re doing here is making sure that when the fire starts, the troublemaker’s path overlaps with the fire truck’s route.”
“How?”
“Dung Carrier Goblin will guide them in that direction.”
Just then, a siren wailed from the Fire Station. Cha Im-beom and the firefighters rushed inside, practically tossing their paper cups aside.
“The story progresses.”
Pot Goblin hurried toward the Fire Station but stopped, then gently brushed my fedora with her finger.
Whoosh!
Tae-poong felt a strange sensation and looked at Pot Goblin.
“What is this…?”
“It makes people unable to perceive you.”
“Perceive? What do you mean by perceive?”
“In fairy tales, people say that someone wearing a goblin’s headband becomes invisible to others’ eyes.”
“Yes. Oh, so I become invisible?”
“You don’t actually become transparent.”
Pot Goblin spoke while looking at Tae-poong.
“Just as people don’t remember each individual leaf falling from a tree even if they see it, we make ourselves unperceivable. We become like fallen leaves on the roadside or stones.”
“So people can see me, but they don’t realize I’m a person?”
“Exactly. That way we can get close enough to observe.”
Pot Goblin smiled and walked quickly toward the Fire Station, speaking.
“Come on. To write the story, I need to be close to the scene.”
Tae-poong followed her, but suddenly a doubt crossed his mind and he asked.
“I’m going too?”
“You’ve come this far—don’t you want to see? Let’s go together.”
“You… want to see it together with me?”
“Yes!”
Unable to refuse Pot Goblin as she smiled brightly and nodded, Tae-poong found himself nodding in agreement.
“Understood.”
Pot Goblin entered the Fire Station and, deftly avoiding the bustling firefighters, climbed atop the fire truck.
Having scaled the fire truck with practiced ease, Pot Goblin looked down at Tae-poong. He followed her path, stepping and gripping where she had, pulling himself up beside her.
Settling carefully atop the fire truck, Tae-poong spoke.
“But… are we really going like this?”
“The firefighters need to ride inside the truck.”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Tae-poong glanced down hesitantly. From below, he hadn’t noticed, but now that he was up here, it was quite… high.
And if the fire truck started moving…
“Isn’t this dangerous?”
At Tae-poong’s concern, Pot Goblin gave him a puzzled look before nodding in realization.
“Right. You’re human.”
Pot Goblin thrust her hand into her pants pocket and rummaged around before producing a bundle of keys.
Jingle!
Pot Goblin’s keys came in various colors.
Like a rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—all of them.
She plucked a silver key from the bundle and waved it lightly toward Tae-poong.
Whoosh!
A rope materialized, wrapped around Tae-poong’s body, and connected to the fire truck.
“This way you won’t fall.”
Tae-poong examined the rope, then shifted his gaze to the key she held.
“Is that a goblin club?”
“Exactly. Cute, right?”
“Bamboo Sword Goblin’s looks like a conductor’s baton. I guess each one has a different shape.”
“We each customize the appearance to our taste. Some use umbrellas, others use cell phones.”
As she spoke, Pot Goblin withdrew another key from her bundle and held it out to him.
“Now that I think about it, I said I’d bring you a club. Might as well give it to you now. Take it.”
Tae-poong accepted the yellow key and examined it with fascination.
‘This is a goblin club?’

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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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