Goblin Library - Chapter 84

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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 84.

When Yu Tae-poong expressed bewilderment at the notion that the afterlife one enters varies depending on the country where one lives and the religion one believes in, the Dung Carrier Goblin offered an explanation.
“That’s right. Apparently, they all made a fuss, each claiming they could punish such a wicked fellow better and demanding to take him. The Korean side argued that someone with genuine faith wouldn’t have lived so wickedly, while the religious side countered that since he believed in them, he belonged to them—and since he committed evil despite his belief, they should take him and administer the punishment themselves. Something like that, or so I’ve heard.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin continued, speaking with amusement.
“In any case, the afterlife differs according to what people believe. What’s written there is the destination for those with the sensibilities of ordinary Koreans. Those with religion go to their respective hells instead.”
Yu Tae-poong nodded and glanced at the book cover before speaking.
“But you said JS has developed considerably according to reality. Has modern civilization been introduced to the hells as well?”
“That’s not the case. The afterlife is….”
The Dung Carrier Goblin paused briefly, observing Yu Tae-poong for a moment. He wondered if he should be discussing such matters.
But soon he shook his head. Yu Tae-poong had already picked up bits and pieces of information here and there, so he possessed a rough understanding of the Spirit Servants and the afterlife.
If that were the case, a bit more knowledge wouldn’t make much difference. And if he went out of his way to investigate directly, he might end up encountering dangerous information instead. It seemed better for me to explain things properly.
“The afterlife operates almost identically to the Living World. When the deceased arrive in the afterlife, it’s managed to be as similar as possible to the Living World to minimize psychological shock. So even when Yu Tae-poong eventually goes to the afterlife, it won’t be particularly confusing. But the hells are different. The hells still pursue classical and antiquated methods.”
“Why is that?”
“Because the only punishment administered in the Living World for crimes is imprisonment, right? Whether someone commits murder or fraud, they receive the same imprisonment with only the duration varying. And the duration—excluding cases like life sentences—is typically three years, five years? At most, ten years?”
“That’s right.”
“JS doesn’t even consider such trivial matters worthy of punishment.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Why would there be a hell otherwise? That’s why the hells’ punishments don’t keep pace with modern reality and instead adhere to the old methods. You know what I mean.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin made a gesture with his hand as if cutting something, then pointed to the book.
“The hell descriptions there are nearly identical.”
“But have you ever been to a hell, sir?”
It was a curious question, since the Dung Carrier Goblin was a goblin of the Living World yet seemed to know much about the hells of the afterlife.
“Me? No, I haven’t.”
“Yet you seem to know quite well.”
“I haven’t been, but there are goblins working at JS. I heard it from them.”
“Goblins working there—you mean as regular employees, not as a president?”
Goblins love leisure. Nowadays, due to financial concerns in the human world, they each have occupations, but from the goblins I’ve encountered so far, they don’t seem to work particularly diligently.
At least those goblins held positions like the Shoe Goblin, who is the president of a shoe shop, where it’s acceptable to be absent during work hours without drawing suspicion. If they were working as regular employees, that would be difficult, wouldn’t it?
Understanding what Yu Tae-poong was thinking, the Dung Carrier Goblin answered with a laugh.
“The goblins working at JS were born in the afterlife. Goblins born in the afterlife are similar to us yet different.”
“How are they different?”
“I suppose you could say they were born to maintain the balance of the afterlife?”
The Dung Carrier Goblin scratched his head.
“We’re the leisure-loving kind, they’re the working kind, so to speak?”
Then he shook his head.
“In any case, though we were born in different places, we’re still the same goblins, so when we meet in the Living World, we drink together and share meals.”
“They’re from the afterlife, yet they come to the Living World too?”
“In the Living World, office workers occasionally take vacations and travel, right? It’s similar to that. When they get time off from work over there, they come to the Living World to enjoy themselves.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin continued with a chuckle.
“A goblin I’m close with came to Gangwon Province on vacation and that’s when we first met.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin paused briefly, then pulled out his phone and showed me a contact number.

「Kang Du-seok Goblin.
010-****-****」

“This is the goblin I’m close with. Since he works in a place called Balseol Hell, he’s quite interested in farming. Whenever he takes vacation and comes to the Living World, he eats and drinks at my farm, does some work, then heads back. That’s what I heard from him.”
“You have a friend.”
At the word “friend,” the Dung Carrier Goblin laughed and spoke.
“Yeah. But that guy is incredibly timid.”
“Really?”
“His courage is literally the size of a soy sauce dish. It’s not easy for a goblin to be that timid. I wonder if it’s because his workplace is like that, making him afraid of everything? Anyway, I felt bad for him, and since I treat him well when he visits and we drink together, we became friends.”
“The more friends you have, the better.”
Then Yu Tae-poong looked toward the door where the Shoe Goblin had left.
“I hope he finds good material abroad.”
“He’ll find good material. From what Yu Tae-poong says, it’s an episode rich with material.”
“That’s true.”
Yu Tae-poong nodded and looked at the 【Korean Traditional Mythology Collection】.
“Hell, huh….”
Yu Tae-poong opened the book. The 【Korean Traditional Mythology Collection】 wasn’t a particularly difficult read.
It was a book that compiled Korean folklore at an entertaining level… but the illustrations were rather frightening.
They were paintings in a style you’d see on temple walls—and hell was depicted quite gruesomely.
Literally a depiction of hell. People being sliced with saws and all, people being thrown into boiling cauldrons and all….
“Ugh….”
While the content was worthwhile, the illustrations were anything but, so Yu Tae-poong grimaced and closed the book.
“Terrifying, isn’t it?”
“It certainly is.”
“People commit sins because they don’t know about hell. If they knew about hell….”
The Dung Carrier Goblin shook his head, and Yu Tae-poong nodded in agreement.
“So shall we look at your book now?”
“Yeah! Oh Jang-hyuk has improved.”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong reached out and picked up Oh Jang-hyuk’s book.

***

When an important deal was struck that would clear the accumulated inventory at the Company, Company President Kang Chung-shik treated his employees to a company dinner.
Since there were too many employees to book a separate restaurant, the gathering was held in the Company Cafeteria.
After providing extra compensation to the Company Cafeteria staff and preparing appetizers and grilled pork belly, Kang Chung-shik rose from his seat as he watched his employees eat and drink.
“Please continue eating while you listen.”
At Kang Chung-shik’s words, all the employees stopped eating and looked at him. He’d said to eat while listening, but who could manage that? The Company President was about to speak….
Click! Click!
As the executives exchanged glances, the employees turned off the gas burners.
If the speech dragged on, the meat on the grill would burn, so they extinguished the flames preemptively.
Observing his employees, Kang Chung-shik spoke with a slightly flushed face.
“As you know, the company we were supposed to receive our products from went bankrupt, leaving our inventory as dead stock. I’ve been searching for various sales channels, and I’m pleased to announce that we’ve just signed a contract to resolve this inventory issue.”
Clap clap clap!
The employees applauded tactfully, and Kang Chung-shik smiled as he continued.
“I know you’ve all been worried every time boxes piled up in the warehouse. Now, put those concerns aside and focus your energy on producing quality goods. And once we’ve cleared this inventory, I plan to distribute bonuses to everyone, so….”
Kang Chung-shik raised his glass.
“Fighting!”
“Fighting!”
The employees downed their drinks in unison. Kang Chung-shik told them to drink comfortably, then circulated through the cafeteria, pouring drinks for everyone.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“I look forward to your continued efforts.”
As Kang Chung-shik poured drinks, he spotted Oh Jang-hyuk sitting with Go Gyeong-ha eating meat, so he pulled up a chair beside them.
“Company President.”
Kang Chung-shik looked at Oh Jang-hyuk and Go Gyeong-ha, who quickly bowed their heads, with a pleased expression.
“Oh Department Head, I never would have guessed—you’re truly remarkable.”
“Pardon? What do you mean, sir?”
“This. This right here.”
As Kang Chung-shik moved his hands in various shapes, Go Gyeong-ha tilted his head in confusion.
It appeared to be sign language, but it held no meaning. Of course, some of the gestures resembled actual sign language, but did they make sense? Individual movements had to connect to form actual words.
“Ah… it’s not that remarkable.”
“Not remarkable? Come on… learning sign language too—I’ve really misjudged you.”
Kang Chung-shik smiled and looked at Go Gyeong-ha.
“Are you two quite close?”
“He’s a colleague who works well, so I check in on him from time to time.”
As Oh Jang-hyuk spoke, he glanced at Go Gyeong-ha, who was typing something on his phone and showing it to him.
“Department Head Oh takes good care of me. He’s truly someone I’m grateful for.”
“Hmm? Did he understand what we were saying?”
Kang Chung-shik looked at Go Gyeong-ha with a puzzled expression, and Oh Jang-hyuk answered on his behalf.
“He reads lips.”
“Ah! Is that so?”
“As long as you don’t speak too quickly, it’s no different from conversing with anyone else.”
“Really? That’s impressive.”
Kang Chung-shik composed himself, a smile spreading across his face as he extended his hand toward Go Gyeong-ha.
“Since you’ve come to work here, our defect rate has dropped significantly. Keep up the good work.”
Go Gyeong-ha quickly grasped his hand and bowed his head respectfully.
“Yes, yes.”
After shaking hands with Go Gyeong-ha, Kang Chung-shik studied him for a moment before speaking.
“Is there anything you’d like to see change at our company?”
At Kang Chung-shik’s question, Go Gyeong-ha tilted his head in confusion.
So Kang Chung-shik spoke slowly and deliberately, ensuring Go Gyeong-ha could understand him.
“Feel free to tell me if there’s anything you’d like.”
Go Gyeong-ha studied him for a moment, then typed something into his phone.
“I’m the only person with a disability at this company.”
“Why should that concern you?”
At Oh Jang-hyuk’s words, spoken with a slight squint, Go Gyeong-ha hesitated and lowered his head.
Seeing Go Gyeong-ha’s reaction, Kang Chung-shik waved his hand dismissively.
“No, no. I told you to speak freely if you had something to say. And it seems this matter was weighing on your mind.”
Kang Chung-shik smiled as he spoke, then turned to look at Oh Jang-hyuk after a pause.
“What do you think?”
“Well…”
As Oh Jang-hyuk hesitated, Kang Chung-shik encouraged him.
“Speak freely.”
After a moment of silence, Oh Jang-hyuk finally spoke.
“As you can see from Go Gyeong-ha’s example, there are actually areas within our manufacturing processes where people with physical disabilities could work quite effectively.”
“So you’re suggesting we hire people with disabilities?”
“We’ve avoided hiring people with disabilities and paid fines instead, but there are certainly capable workers like Go Gyeong-ha out there. If we could provide employment to those who are able to work rather than simply paying fines, I think that would be worthwhile.”
Kang Chung-shik fell silent for a moment, considering Oh Jang-hyuk’s words, before responding.
“That’s not an easy undertaking. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”
“I do. The issue isn’t the work itself—it’s creating the conditions that allow them to work.”
“Exactly. You understand well.”
Hiring and employing people with disabilities was admirable, but from a business perspective, it created complications.
Even the bathrooms alone would require remodeling for their needs, and accommodations for those with mobility issues—ramps, removing curbs—would require significant construction.
Moreover, in such a loud factory, the risk of accidents was substantial. Go Gyeong-ha himself constantly looked around whenever he moved, always alert to the possibility of work vehicles approaching.
After a moment of contemplation, Kang Chung-shik nodded.
“Let’s think about it for now.”
“I’ll give it some thought as well.”
At Oh Jang-hyuk’s response, Kang Chung-shik looked at him with a smile and spoke.
“Honestly, seeing you use sign language really changed how I view you. Who would have thought that someone from the Sales Department, not even a factory worker, would go this far?”
“It’s nothing special. There are times when communication becomes a bit frustrating.”
While Go Gyeong-ha could understand his words by reading his lips, Oh Jang-hyuk had to have Go Gyeong-ha type messages into his phone to understand him. Finding that cumbersome, he’d simply learned sign language.
“Not many people would learn sign language just because they found communication inconvenient. Regardless, continue to look after our employees and help them however you can.”
Kang Chung-shik patted Oh Jang-hyuk’s shoulder with a smile and approached the other employees.
Oh Jang-hyuk felt a peculiar warmth bloom within him. He had learned the skill out of sheer frustration, yet to receive praise and recognition from the Company President—it was validation he hadn’t expected.

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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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