Chapter 79

When Lemira saw the message, she couldn't hide her surprise. "What? You're his younger brother?"

Matthew struggled to his feet, his fingers trembling as he typed, "Yeah, I'm the adorable, obedient, and extremely talented little brother. Since when did he take on a protégé? How come I didn't know about it?" Could it be that the Langston girl was really Orion's protégé? Testing the waters, Matthew asked, "Are you Lemira? It's me. He mentioned me?" Lemira was surprised that Orion's brother knew of her.

Matthew was shocked, dropping a string of "Holy cows!" Shaking, he called Orion, who picked up immediately, his voice cool, "What's up?" Orion was sitting in front of his computer in the study, pinching the bridge of his nose as he exited a program.

"Orion, not cool! Sneaking around, taking Lemira as your protégé. She pulled off a twelve-hit combo you never taught me! Am I even your real brother? I must be adopted!"

Orion straightened up. "How do you know about it?"

"I just logged into your account. She was looking for you, and I tricked her into spilling the beans." Only then did Orion notice Lemira's recent message. His tone was cold, "Log off now!"

"You haven't answered why you would teach Lemira the twelve-hit combo and not me? You didn't know she's my competition?"

"She figured it out herself. Count to three and log off!" Orion's tone grew stern.

After memorizing Lemira's username, Matthew logged off reluctantly. "Orion, you're so into it. Is she your new girlfriend? I support you rebelling against an arranged marriage for love!"

"Shut it! What did you tell her?"

"N–Nothing much, just that I'm your brother."

Orion hung up immediately. He logged back into the game and saw Lemira online. For a moment, he felt panicked. He had almost thought Lemira knew his true identity. Orion watched Lemira online, hesitating to make a move.

Lemira found it odd that the account suddenly logged off, then back on, but with no further action. Could it have been hacked? Who would bother hacking a minor account? Lemira texted Orion: "Orion, someone logged into your gaming account. Were you hacked?"

Seeing her message, he finally invited Lemira to join his team. "It was someone else who logged in."

"Your brother, he told me himself. I thought your account got hacked."

Orion's tone was calm, "No hack. Just ignore him."

Lemira didn't probe further. While they were on a quest, she suddenly said, "The Reapers' captain actually invited me to join his team?" Orion frowned. "When?" Was Matthew looking for trouble?

"Just now. I saw the captain publicly challenging Alaric. Guess he wanted to rile him up; quite unexpected."

Orion checked the game news and saw the highlighted post. His voice was steady. "Don't take it seriously."

"Of course, I didn't. The Reapers are formidable, sure to join the national team someday."

"You're not any less!" Orion's words slipped out before he could stop them. Lemira's eyes widened as he awkwardly turned away. "With me around, you'll be the strongest one day." His tone carried a hint of pride.

Lemira smiled. "I hope to join the national team too, if it's possible, to make our country proud." She hadn't had the chance in her previous life, as Evelina had taken her spot.

Orion's tone was even, "Easy, we'll talk after your exams."

13:08

Chapter 70

After completing the quest, Lemira logged off. Orion immediately called Matthew, who answered right away. "Orion, you finally called! I've been dying here. What's the deal with your protégé?"

"First: Don't talk about this with anyone, especially our family."

Matthew straightened up. "Got it. I'd never betray you."