Chapter 194: Lift up

After finishing our tea, the back patio gradually grew quiet again.

Raymond had carried the empty glass teapot and silver tray back inside the kitchen. Carmilla had dragged Leo and Mia over to the lawn near the wooden fence, watching with a lazy smirk as Leo swung his wooden sword at empty air while yelling out dramatic move names.

I set my empty teacup down on the table, leaning back against the comfortable woven chair.

Beside me, Viora set her porcelain cup down with a faint clink. She reached into her sweater pocket, pulled out a small, shiny silver coin, and placed it flat on the glass table between us.

“Woo Jin,” Viora spoke, her voice completely smooth and serious.

I looked at the coin, then looked back at her pale face. “What is that?”

“It is a coin,” Viora said. “We are going to play a game.”

“What kind of game?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“A test,” Viora declared, her tone dropping into the same grave, heavy tone Aunt Elena used always. “The rules are simple. I will flip this coin into the air. If you catch it before it hits the table, you win. If it touches the glass, I win.”

I stared at her for a few seconds. “Viora, you are an official registered Hunter with high agility.”

“And you have gotten stronger from clearing the roulette gate,” Viora countered instantly, her chin lifting with quiet pride. “Are you admitting defeat before the challenge even begins, Woo Jin?”

“I don’t lose,” I said. “What happens if I win?”

“If you win, I will let you carry me up the stairs to the second floor without complaining once,” she said, her voice dropping into a soft, sweet whisper.

“And if you win?” I asked.

A tiny, dangerous smirk appeared on her delicate lips. “If I win, you have to let me pick out your outfit for dinner tonight. And you cannot argue.”

I looked at her plain white sweater, then thought about my wardrobe full of comfortable, plain shirts.

“Deal,” I said.

Viora placed her right index finger under the edge of the silver coin. Her body went completely still, her ears twitching slightly as she tracked the subtle rustle of my shirt sleeves against my arms.

“Three,” Viora counted slowly. “Two… One.”

FLIP!

She flicked her finger upward. The silver coin shot straight up into the air, spinning violently as it caught the bright morning sunlight.

My reaction was instant. I didn’t hesitate. I thrust my hand forward, my fingers snapping shut right where the coin reached the peak of its arc.

CLACK!

My hand closed tight. But when I brought my hand down and opened my palm, it was completely empty.

PING!

A crisp, high-pitched metallic sound rang out from the table. The silver coin landed flat on the glass surface right in front of Viora, spinning in a tight circle before settling completely still.

I blinked in pure disbelief, staring at the empty air above my hand, then down at the coin resting peacefully on the glass.

“How did you do that?” I asked, my voice completely flat. “The trajectory was straight up.”

Viora picked up the coin smoothly, slipping it back into her pocket with a bright, victorious smile.

“I didn’t flip the coin straight up, Woo Jin,” Viora explained, leaning her elbows on the glass table and resting her chin in her hands. “I applied a light spin with my thumb at a forty-five degree angle, made a subtle fake movement with my elbow, and let the wind carry it slightly to the left. You reacted to my arm movement instead of tracking the sound of the metal.”

“You used misdirection. On a coin flip.”

“A victory is a victory,” Viora said happily, her purple eyes sparkling with absolute delight. “Now remember our deal. I am choosing your clothes for dinner.”

“You cheated,”

“I used advanced combat strategy,” Viora corrected, reaching across the table to pat my hand with a gentle, comforting touch. “Don’t be a sore loser, Young Master Woo Jin.”

From the edge of the lawn, Carmilla let out a loud, dramatic laugh. She was leaning against the wooden fence, holding her stomach while looking over at us.

“Did you really just lose a coin game to a girl who can’t even see the coin, Woo Jin?” Carmilla wheezed out, wiping a small tear from her eye. “That’s embarrassing.”

“Mind your own business, Carmilla,” I said without turning my head.

“I’m just observing the facts!” Carmilla shouted back, grinning wildly. “Stating a fact isn’t getting arrogant, right?”

An hour later, the sun had reached the center of the sky. The morning heat started to build up over the green garden, making the air warm and sticky.

I stood up from the patio chair and looked down at Viora.

“Come inside,” I said softly. “It’s getting too warm out here.”

“Okay,” Viora agreed, standing up from her chair.

She reached out her hand toward me. I didn’t take her hand. Instead, I stepped forward, slid my arms under her back and knees, and lifted her up into my arms again before she could react.

Viora let out a tiny gasp, her arms wrapping around my neck automatically. “Woo Jin! I lost the coin toss, remember? I was supposed to let you carry me only if you won.”

“I am carrying you because I want to,” I said, stepping off the patio and walking through the rear glass doors into the cool, air-conditioned hallway of the main floor. “The rules of your coin flip do not apply inside the house.”

“That is complete nonsense logic,” Viora murmured, though she rested her forehead against my neck anyway, her soft laughter tickling my skin. “You are just taking advantage of the situation.”

We walked down the quiet hallway toward the central living room.

As we turned the corner into the living room, we stopped dead in our tracks.

Standing near the middle of the room, Raymond was holding a large, golden vacuum cleaner. Beside him, Aunt Elena was standing with her hands folded behind her back, wearing her sharp dark blue dress, looking down at a large, plush light gray rug that sat in front of the sofa.

On the floor, right in the center of the clean gray rug, sat Leo and little Mia.

Leo was sitting cross-legged, holding a small plastic tube of bright yellow craft glue. Mia was sitting right beside him, holding a massive bag of loose, shiny silver glitter.

The gray rug was no longer gray. It was covered in a massive, chaotic, glaring pile of wet yellow glue and sparkling silver glitter that looked like a magical monster had exploded in the middle of the living room.

“What is going on here?” Aunt Elena asked, her voice dropping into a dangerously quiet, ice-cold tone that could freeze a boiling river.

Raymond closed his eyes for a bit, letting out a single, long, extremely quiet breath.

Leo looked up at Aunt Elena with wide, innocent brown eyes, holding his glue tube like a shield. “Lady Elena! We were building a defensive mana trap for the front door! In case dark guilds come next Thursday!”

“A mana trap,” Elena repeated slowly, her sharp blue eyes narrowing as she looked at the shiny, sticky disaster ruining her expensive imported rug.

“Yes!” Leo nodded eagerly. “The glitter makes the monsters blind, and the glue sticks their boots to the floor!”

Mia held up her stuffed bear, which was now completely covered in silver glitter from head to toe. “Bear is a holy knight now,” she announced proudly in her tiny voice.

I stood in the doorway, still holding Viora in my arms like a bride.

Viora tilted her head slightly, her ears picking up the absolute silence hanging in the room. “Woo Jin… what does it smell like?”

Aunt Elena slowly turned her head, her sharp blue eyes locking onto me and Viora standing in the doorway.

“Woo Jin,” Elena spoke coolly.

“Yes, Auntie?” I replied instantly.

“Take Viora upstairs,” Elena ordered sternly. “And then come back down here with a scrub brush and two buckets of warm soapy water.”

“Can Raymond help?” I asked.

“No,” Elena said smoothly, her voice carrying an absolute, unshakeable finality.

“Understood,” I nodded without hesitation.

I turned around instantly, carrying Viora straight toward the wooden staircase leading to the second floor, moving as fast as humanly possible to escape the danger zone.

Behind us, we heard Leo let out a dramatic gasp. “Wait! Lady Elena! It’s strategic defensive planning! Mr. Raymond said strategic planning is good!”

“Strategic planning does not involve ruining my floorboards, Leo,” Elena’s cool, strict voice echoed from below.

By the time we reached the top of the stairs, Viora was shaking with quiet, uncontrollable laughter in my arms. Her face was buried against my shoulder, her small body trembling as she tried desperately not to make a loud sound.

“Leo is in so much trouble,” Viora giggled softly into my neck, her breath warm and sweet against my skin.

“He’s going to be scrubbing that rug until Thursday,” I said, carrying her to the second-floor hallway to her bedroom door.

I stopped outside her door and set her down gently onto her feet. Viora leaned back against the dark wood of her door frame, her face slightly flushed from laughing, her purple hair falling softly over her shoulders.

She reached out with both hands, taking my right hand into hers and holding it gently.

“Thank you for carrying me up, Woo Jin,”