Goblin Library - Chapter 90

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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 90.

The Dung Carrier Goblin looked up from his book and spoke.
“And now I understand why he doesn’t trust people.”
“You understand?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s question, the Dung Carrier Goblin nodded and continued.
“This person has experienced betrayal from someone he believed in.”
“Betrayal?”
“He was betrayed by his nation. And by the police—the very people he thought were most trustworthy in times of danger.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin paused briefly, then spoke while gazing at his book.
“Police are the people’s staff, meant to protect the citizens. But this person was sent to prison by those very police. In other words, he was betrayed by those who should have protected him. So how could he easily trust anyone?”
“That makes sense.”
“Probably this fellow won’t trust anyone. And the evidence of that is right here in this episode.”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong shook his head slightly.
“I thought he’d be a righteous person who would identify and punish the corrupt ones among the police and prosecutors. But that’s not it at all.”
The image of Lee Gang-hyuk that Yu Tae-poong had imagined was that of a dark hero punishing a Judicial Organization that had become unjust and evil.
A hero who, even while doing bad things, maintained his principles and carved out the rot from society.
But looking at his actual actions… he was just a bad man. Someone driven by vengeance against the judicial authorities.
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, the Dung Carrier Goblin also looked at his book. It contained accounts of Lee Gang-hyuk’s preparations before leaving the Prison.
Lee Gang-hyuk had preemptively eliminated those who could shake the foundation of the organization after his release, and his methods were cruel and despicable.
“People say they like characters with their own sense of justice who don’t care about the means or methods. But this person… I’m not sure.”
“Right. When the Bamboo Sword Goblin first mentioned it, I thought it suited him.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin tilted his head in confusion, then suddenly spoke.
“No, wait.”
“What is it?”
“When you think about it, we Goblins observe real-world protagonists and write them as novels, but we write what we want to write and don’t write what we don’t want to. If we transcribed every single action, the volume would be far too much.”
“That’s true. And there would be many boring parts too.”
“Perhaps…”
The Dung Carrier Goblin pointed at the book and spoke.
“They only wrote the bad parts and left out the good ones?”
“Only the bad parts?”
“If this fellow were the protagonist, they would have definitely written his good parts too. His human moments, times when he helped others, things like that. But now Lee Gang-hyuk is the antagonist opposing the protagonist Lim Sung-un. There’s no need to show the good side of such a person, so perhaps they excluded those aspects and only wrote him as Lim Sung-un’s opposing role.”
“Hmm… that could be true. But what kind of good behavior would he show in prison?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s puzzled question, the Dung Carrier Goblin laughed and spoke.
“Well…”
The Dung Carrier Goblin started to say something, then stopped and placed his hand on the book.
“Can you write down the human moments or kind actions Lee Gang-hyuk showed in the Prison?”
And through the book, he continued his conversation with the Bamboo Sword Goblin, who was listening to his words.
“While Yu Tae-poong and I were reading the book and talking, I thought there must be some version of you that I would have wanted as the protagonist. Right? We also suspected that since we decided you’d be the counterpart to Lim Sung-un, we probably only wrote down your bad and vicious sides. So… even so, the readers want to see it. Alright, I understand.”
As the Dung Carrier Goblin withdrew his hand, Yu Tae-poong asked.
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, the readers want to see it, so I’ll write it.”
As he spoke, the door opened and the Bamboo Sword Goblin entered.
“Welcome.”
The Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded and approached the table, sitting down as he raised his hand.
Whoosh!
As a laptop materialized, the Bamboo Sword Goblin spoke.
“Tell them at Jeonjujeon to bring some soju and make one stir-fried squid.”
“Understood.”
Yu Tae-poong retrieved soju and glasses from the refrigerator and set them down, then called Jeonjujeon.
“The boss wants you to make one stir-fried squid. Yes, I’ll go pick it up.”
After ordering food from Jeonjujeon, Yu Tae-poong spoke to the Bamboo Sword Goblin.
“He said it’ll be ready in about ten minutes. Should I bring out another appetizer first?”
“Just bring some snacks.”
At the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s words, the Dung Carrier Goblin spoke.
“I have cheesecake I eat. Use that.”
“Fine then.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin then stood up and retrieved the cheesecake from the refrigerator.
It was an odd choice for the Dung Carrier Goblin, but after tasting it once before, he’d developed a taste for it and kept a stock in the refrigerator.
The Dung Carrier Goblin placed the cheesecake on a plate in front of the Bamboo Sword Goblin.
“It’s the cheesecake from the Coffee Shop you bought.”
“That’s still left?”
“That batch is gone. It was so good that I’ve been buying it ever since.”
The Bamboo Sword Goblin nodded. He poured soju, took a sip, and ate the cheesecake as an appetizer.
Then he opened the laptop and began to write.

***

After Lee Gang-hyuk met with Lim Sung-un, rumors quickly spread through the Prison that he would be released.
The atmosphere within the Prison shifted subtly at these rumors. One side celebrated Lee Gang-hyuk’s departure with a bright mood.
These were the inmates without much stake in the matter.
The other side consisted of long-term prisoners who sought to seize control of the Prison’s power structure once Lee Gang-hyuk left.
They had been watching what Lee Gang-hyuk did all this time, so they believed they could do the same.
If that happened, they could earn money and live like kings within the Prison.

During prison exercise time, Lee Gang-hyuk sat in a chair reading a book. A Young Man approached him and bowed his head.
“Sir.”
Lee Gang-hyuk, observing the bowing man, asked a question.
“Is your mother doing well?”
“Thanks to your help, sir, she’s doing fine.”
At the man’s words, Lee Gang-hyuk nodded and spoke.
“I’m getting out soon.”
“I heard about it. Congratulations.”
The man bowed deeply. Watching him, Lee Gang-hyuk said:
“Even after I leave, if you face any difficulties, you can tell Choi Jin.”
The man stared at him silently for a moment, then dropped to his knees.
Thud.
The man knelt on the dirt ground and lowered his head.
“I made a mistake and came to prison, unable to care for my ailing mother. Because you helped me, sir, my mother was able to have her surgery. If there’s ever anything I can do to repay you later, please tell me. I will help you with my very life if needed.”
Then Lee Gang-hyuk spoke.
“There is one thing I want from you.”
“Please tell me anything.”
“Even if it was an unintentional mistake, a crime is still a crime. So serve your sentence well, be released, take good care of your mother, find a good spouse, get married, have three children, and live a good life. That’s all I ask.”
“Thank you… truly.”
Watching the grateful man, Lee Gang-hyuk sighed.
“Your crime happened because you were working so hard you neglected your health. So from now on, take care of yourself as you live.”
“I understand.”
The man stood up and walked to the side. Lee Gang-hyuk shook his head slightly and opened his book, speaking.
“When that guy gets released, put him in Samjin.”
“Understood.”
At Choi Jin’s response, Lee Gang-hyuk lifted his gaze from the book and observed the exercising inmates.
The muscular men working out and those strolling about were all criminals who had been convicted.
But among them were people like myself who had been falsely accused, and those who had committed crimes out of necessity for survival.
False accusations were just that—false accusations. Survival crimes were cases where people, having nothing to eat or nowhere to go, stole to survive and were caught.
Strangely, these people often served longer sentences than those who had defrauded or stolen tens of billions of won.
The man who had just bowed to me had a sick mother. So after leaving work, he delivered food at night and drove for hire in the early morning to earn hospital fees for her.
Cutting back on sleep and working constantly, his body couldn’t endure it. Eventually, he had an accident while delivering on a motorcycle.
Moreover, the delivery company wasn’t insured, so he ended up here in prison.
If he had come in for reasons like drunk driving, Lee Gang-hyuk wouldn’t have paid attention. But knowing his circumstances, I arranged for his mother to have surgery and paid the hospital bills myself.
And besides this young man, there were others like him—people who had come to prison for mistakes anyone could make.
To such people, Lee Gang-hyuk was their savior.
While hardened criminals could adapt and live in prison, for these people it was a terrifying and frightening place.
Moreover, the people in their cells, unlike them, were those who committed crimes willingly, so they got beaten and suffered mistreatment.
They were like lambs thrown into a wolf pack. So after gaining power, Lee Gang-hyuk helped and protected such people.
The Prison Guards treated Lee Gang-hyuk favorably partly because of money, but also because he maintained order within the prison and resolved problems.
Lee Gang-hyuk spoke as he watched the people exercising.
『When I get out of here, I need to look after the unfortunate and wronged ones among those who came to this place.』
『Understood.』
『Good. It puts my mind at ease having you here.』
Lee Gang-hyuk nodded and continued as he observed the people.
『And once I leave, many will come to challenge you.』
『I’m aware.』
『I’ve dealt with some of the major problems, but others will emerge.』
『It’s something I’ll have to face regardless. I’ll handle it well.』
At Choi Jin’s words, Lee Gang-hyuk nodded.
『If you ever need anything, just say so. And if things get too difficult, you can tell the warden.』
『Understood.』
Lee Gang-hyuk glanced at a book briefly, then handed it to Choi Jin.
『All the answers are always found within books.』
『I’ll use it gratefully.』
As Choi Jin accepted the book, Lee Gang-hyuk rose to his feet and began walking.
Choi Jin followed behind him and quietly opened the book.
The book was hollowed out inside, and a mobile phone fit perfectly within the cavity.
It was a model from an era when miniaturizing phones was considered cutting-edge technology—about the size of three finger joints—with no internet capability, only basic texting and calling functions.
Someone of Lee Gang-hyuk’s or Choi Jin’s standing could make calls using the guards’ phones, but they couldn’t discuss crime-related matters openly in front of them.
That’s why he kept such a phone separately.
As Choi Jin checked the phone and tucked the book against his chest, Lee Gang-hyuk walked toward the prison wall.
Soon he would be able to step beyond this place.
Lee Gang-hyuk’s eyes turned cold as his hand touched the wall.

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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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