Goblin Library - Chapter 73

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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 73

Pot Goblin nodded at Dung Carrier Goblin’s congratulations.
“That’s right. I’m the first among the Goblins to debut as a writer in the human world.”
Yu Tae-poong laughed at how genuinely pleased Pot Goblin seemed.
“You really do seem delighted.”
“Of course I am.”
Pot Goblin smiled and spoke while looking at the book.
“We Goblins could buy a Publishing House and print books if we wanted to. But that wouldn’t be our ability at work—it would just be money doing the job. Where’s the fun in that?”
“That’s true.”
Pot Goblin smiled at Yu Tae-poong’s agreement and continued.
“That’s why my heart is racing. I’m thrilled wondering how much people will enjoy my book.”
“You’re not hoping for strong sales?”
“If it’s entertaining, it sells well. If it’s not, it doesn’t. That’s humanity’s choice to make.”
Then Pot Goblin looked at Dung Carrier Goblin.
“The Publishing House seems interested in your writing too.”
“My writing?”
“The editor seems to like it. They said they’d review it further.”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong looked at Dung Carrier Goblin.
“That’s wonderful. Congratulations.”
Dung Carrier Goblin stood there dazed for a moment, then laughed.
“Come on, congratulations for what? They’re just reviewing it.”
Then Pot Goblin spoke.
“As you know, merchants don’t touch anything that won’t make them money. A Publishing House is a business that sells books, so when those people say they’ll review your work, it means they’ve read enough to believe it has commercial value.”
Pot Goblin continued with a smile.
“And from our Goblins’ perspective, having your writing recognized as entertaining and worthy of payment is something to celebrate, even if you don’t sign a contract.”
Dung Carrier Goblin laughed and nodded.
Pot Goblin was right.
My writing had been recognized as entertaining, so I couldn’t help but feel good. Besides, it felt like Lim Ok-beom’s life was being recognized too.
“But you haven’t been reading my book lately, have you? I’ve been diligently reading your writing as promised.”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Dung Carrier Goblin hesitated and spoke.
“I am reading it as promised. It’s just that I’m still reading the book Bamboo Sword Goblin wrote. Once I finish that, I’ll read yours again.”
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Pot Goblin squinted.
“Why, don’t you like Bamboo Sword Goblin’s book?”
Pot Goblin seemed to think for a moment, then shook his head.
“It’s not that it’s boring. But it’s just not my style.”
Yu Tae-poong nodded.
“That’s understandable. You prefer warm, humanistic characters, but the protagonist in that work lacks those qualities.”
“That’s right. So it doesn’t really suit me.”
Pot Goblin shook her head slightly and let out a soft chuckle as she spoke.
“Still, it has its own charm. Especially when I see those bad guys getting what they deserve and uncovering their hidden crimes.”
“Good triumphing over evil. It’s humanity’s favorite narrative, after all.”
“Exactly.”
Pot Goblin nodded and stretched languidly.
“This whole contract business is exhausting, I have to say.”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Dung Carrier Goblin looked at her.
“You’ve done plenty of contracts before.”
“What kind of contracts does Pot Goblin do?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s question, Pot Goblin laughed and replied.
“I’ve handled some land and property contracts. That’s what I meant.”
“Ah….”
As Yu Tae-poong nodded, Pot Goblin spoke with a slightly boastful tone.
“But this is different from those kinds of things.”
Then she abruptly stood up.
“I’m mentally exhausted, so I should head home early today. I’ll be back starting tomorrow, so see you then.”
“Take care. Oh! Congratulations on the publishing contract.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Pot Goblin laughed, waved her hand, and left the Goblin Library.
After watching Pot Goblin leave the library, Yu Tae-poong turned to Dung Carrier Goblin.
Worried that his feelings might still be hurt, he spoke once more.
“Your writing is entertaining too, hyung.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, Dung Carrier Goblin smiled and replied.
“Don’t worry about me. That editor said my writing was entertaining too.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
Yu Tae-poong smiled and changed the subject.
“So, how about some tea after the meal? Do you prefer dew tea?”
“No. I want something refreshing—an iced Americano. I’d like to drink something cool.”
“Understood.”
As Yu Tae-poong headed off to make the coffee, Dung Carrier Goblin quickly added.
“Make it strong.”
“If I make it strong, won’t it be bitter?”
“I want to taste something bittersweet and refreshing.”
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong nodded and began pulling out beans to grind.

***

Lim Sung-un was watching the Convenience Store’s CCTV footage on a tablet at the Prosecutor’s Office.
The screen displayed a man in his late thirties sitting at the counter, absorbed in his phone.
This man was Kim Un-hyun, the Convenience Store Owner.
When a recently hired part-timer quit abruptly, Kim Un-hyun posted advertisements seeking a new employee.
But no one came. Jang Ma-ru had already interfered with the job recruitment website, and Kim Un-hyun’s reputation in the neighborhood was abysmal.
Left with no choice, Kim Un-hyun abandoned evening operations and kept the Convenience Store open only during daytime hours.
For a while, nothing remarkable occurred—just Kim Un-hyun and ordinary customers on screen—until finally the Convenience Store door opened and Lee Hye-eun entered.
[Hello.]
Lee Hye-eun’s cheerful voice came through the earphones connected to the tablet.
After greeting Kim Un-hyun, she moved deeper into the store and with practiced ease grabbed a triangle kimbap and banana milk.
She placed them on the counter, and Kim Un-hyun smiled as he spoke.
[You need to eat properly. If you keep eating only triangle kimbap and boxed lunches every day, you’ll ruin your health.]
Buying processed foods once in the morning and once in the evening had made them familiar enough to exchange casual conversation.
It was an interaction born from Kim Un-hyun hitting on her based on her appearance.
『What a despicable creature, pretending to be decent.』
Watching this demon of a man feign concern for others made me want to retch.
Here was someone who didn’t care what his own parents, wife, and children ate or how they lived, yet he carried on like this.
[You’re being nice because she’s pretty. I’ve noticed—with other customers, you just process their purchases without even greeting them, but with female customers, you always try to add an extra word or two.]
At Jang Ma-ru’s words, Lim Sung-un paused before speaking.
『He’s definitely repulsive.』
[Compared to the criminals we’ve dealt with so far, he’s small-time, that’s for sure… but small-time or not, a bad person is still a bad person.]
As they spoke, Lee Hye-eun finished paying and turned to leave.
[Have a good day.]
With a pleasant smile, Lee Hye-eun picked up the triangle kimbap and banana milk and left the store.
Watching her departing figure, Kim Un-hyun stepped out from behind the counter and quietly followed her outside.
The CCTV feed switched, now showing the exterior. Lee Hye-eun placed the triangle kimbap and banana milk into a bicycle equipped with a bamboo basket, mounted it, and began pedaling.
Kim Un-hyun, his eyes gleaming with desire as he watched her receding figure, pulled out a cigarette.
[By the way, I don’t see many people riding bikes like that these days… It seems you watch a lot of dramas.]
『….』
When Lim Sung-un didn’t respond, Jang Ma-ru laughed and spoke.
[Still, she does look quite innocent.]
Then he called out to Lim Sung-un softly.
[By the way, hyung.]
At Jang Ma-ru’s drawn-out tone, Lim Sung-un asked.
『What is it?』
[What we’re doing now is different from what we’ve been doing all this time, isn’t it?]
『That’s true.』
Until now, they had tracked criminals who came to the Prosecutor’s Office and tried to escape through money and power.
In other words, they selected targets from those already caught after committing crimes. They didn’t target those who committed crimes but were never apprehended.
[But just looking at Kim Un-hyun, there are plenty of people in this world who aren’t human even if they don’t break the law. What if we added such people to our targets going forward?]
Lim Sung-un fell silent for a moment at Jang Ma-ru’s words, lost in thought, before speaking again.
“What do you think, Tae-sik?”
[I do whatever you tell me to do, hyung.]
At Choi Tae-sik’s response, Lim Sung-un spoke.
“Then tell me what you really think.”
Choi Tae-sik took a moment to gather his thoughts before answering.
[I don’t think it’s a bad idea. Like Maru said, even if they haven’t broken the law, there are plenty of people living without any sense of humanity.]
“Is that so? I see.”
Lim Sung-un nodded and shared his own opinion.
“I like what you both think. My idea is to make the bad ones pay for their crimes, and you’re both supporting that idea. So it’s reasonable to think we should punish the bad people who exist in that gray area between legal and illegal.”
Lim Sung-un continued, looking at the case files piled high on his desk.
“I hate bad people. Especially those slippery bastards who commit crimes and try to tear through the law’s net with their power and influence. That’s why I became a prosecutor and entered the Prosecutor’s Office. When cases like that come through, I find evidence and sometimes even orchestrate things to make them pay for their crimes. What you and I do is weave the law’s net tighter and stronger.”
[We know that well enough.]
“But you and I aren’t an omnipotent team. In fact, we’re already overwhelmed with just the cases we’re currently handling. We’re only three people, after all.”
[….]
“If you and Tae-sik insist on handling cases that haven’t been officially filed, like you’re thinking… we’ll have far too much work.”
[We can just work harder on it.]
[If you tell us to, hyung, we’ll work even harder.]
At their words, Lim Sung-un shook his head.
“You’re both already working hard enough as it is. But there are limits to what a person can do. Working hard and well requires proper rest too. If we keep pushing past those limits—catching that bad guy, catching this bad guy—mistakes will happen, and those mistakes could entangle us. Then our team becomes the lawbreaker instead.”
[Ah….]
Jang Ma-ru let out a small exclamation as understanding dawned on him, and Lim Sung-un continued.
“We punish people whose cases are officially filed. That’s the best we can do as three people, and that’s how we punish.”
[Understood.]
[You’re right.]
And Choi Tae-sik continued.
[It would be good if we could catch and punish more bad people like Maru said, but like you said, hyung, we’re only three. I think we should focus on what we can actually do.]
“Exactly. We can’t clean up all the garbage in the world. We just need to find and clean up the garbage we can see.”
Having spoken at length, Lim Sung-un’s throat felt dry. He took a sip of water and looked down at the tablet.
Lim Sung-un stared at Kim Un-hyun’s image on the tablet screen before speaking again.
“But if you want to handle cases like this, Maru, I won’t stop you.”
[No, I….]
“No. If it’s about punishing bad people rather than good ones, your thinking isn’t wrong. And like I just said, it’s right that we clean up the garbage we can see.”
[What do you mean, hyung?]
“We won’t go out of our way to look, but if people like this come into our sights, we’ll take action.”
At Lim Sung-un’s words, Jang Ma-ru’s voice brightened immediately.
[Really?]
“But… in cases like that, we only do it if all three of us agree.”
[Got it! So can we make Cha Jang-woo our next target, the one Hye-eun is after?]
“I’ll be the one to bring that bastard in.”
[Brother?]
『That bastard isn’t operating in some gray area between legality and illegality. He committed a clear crime.』
As Lim Sung-un spoke, he opened a file placed to one side. It contained records on Cha Jang-woo.
More precisely, it was documentation related to a sexual assault case from twenty years ago.

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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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