Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4.1

Exactly ten minutes later.

“Stop!”

Ara’s excited voice echoed through the silent, dilapidated house.

“Let’s see. Godori with Hongdan, Chodan, and three lights. That’s double for the three lights. Plus, you’re out of pairs, so double again. Oh, and I shook earlier, so that’s double again.”

“….”

“Oh dear, Mr. Goblin, you even got a penalty for no pairs and no lights.”

“….”

“See? I told you to be ready to grant my wish.”

Ara beamed at the pale-faced man.

After all, she was the only protégé of Jeong Malsoon, the best gambler in Wolcheon Village.

As Ara reveled in her victory, the man threw the cards he was holding onto the blanket. The corner of the blanket flipped over, scattering the neatly arranged cards into a mess.

“You cheated.”

“Wow, accusing me like that. Do you have any proof?”

Ara protested with exaggerated gestures, imitating a scene from a movie she had seen.

“Forget it. I’m tired. Let’s end this.”

The man stared at the chaotic card spread for a while, then stood up, dusting off his dirt-covered clothes.

Still sitting on the ground, Ara was hit by the dust and coughed.

“Mr. Goblin, isn’t there a rule in the goblin code about treating humans with manners?”

“No. Just tell me your wish.”

His attitude, honestly.

Ara waved away the dust in front of her. Despite the petty trials, she felt a slight sense of relief at having survived, which helped her brush off the irritation.

A wish, huh…

After a brief contemplation, Ara looked up at the man. She had already decided on the wish she wanted to ask for since the beginning of the bet.

“One billion.”

“Dollars?”

“No, in Korean won.”

The goblin knows about dollars too?

Ara looked puzzled but then accepted it. In this remote mountain village, if he could use a herringbone pattern blanket, knowing about the key currency, the dollar, was no big deal.

“Why one billion?”

“I want to pay off my debt. So I can return to my place.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, that’s all I need.”

Her resolute voice echoed through the quiet mountain.

Ara didn’t want to be greedy. Becoming a wealthy person, turning back time, bringing the dead back to life… Such excessive wishes would shatter the small vessel that contained her life.

She just didn’t want to suffer and die for something that wasn’t her fault.

The debt her deceased father left behind wasn’t her fault. Her naïve father thought ending his life was the last gift he could give her, but that was wrong. To Ara, who had to continue living, it was not a gift but a curse.

So, if that wretched debt that had ruined her life could disappear, she thought she could live normally again.

“Alright.”

The man, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke.

He pulled out a smartphone from his pocket and tapped on the screen.

“Account.”

“…Pardon?”

“Tell me the account to send the money to. Don’t you know your account number?”

Ara doubted her ears.

An account? Was he going to transfer the money? One billion?

“Uh… don’t goblins usually use a magic club? And chant spells like, ‘Gold, appear!’…”

The man clicked his tongue in disbelief at Ara’s cognitive dissonance. He shook the smartphone in his hand.

“Here it is. The goblin’s magic club.”

Ara frowned deeply. She tilted her head from side to side and rubbed her eyes with her hands.

How could that be a goblin’s magic club? It looked like a smartphone no matter how she looked at it.

Could this man not be a goblin? Maybe he’s just a bored rich guy pretending to be a goblin for fun?

No, that couldn’t be it. Then what about the glowing ring earlier? The moving letters seemed too magical.

And what about the strange things that happened on the way up here? No matter how rich someone is, they can’t change the path like that.

Ara stared intently at the man, her mind swirling with confusion.

“Are you messing with me?”

That was the only conclusion she could come to.

The man shook his head, clicking his tongue again.

“Can’t you do something about that poor imagination of yours?”

“No, seriously. Who on earth, what kind of goblin, uses a smartphone instead of a magic club?”

“Think logically for a second. What goblin in the 21st century would wave an ugly club around and chant ‘Gold, appear!’?”

“But in the books, it clearly says…”

“And even if that were true. If I gave you ten billion in cash right now, do you think you could carry it down the mountain?”