Free Web NovelChapter 81: Chapter 81: Does an Older Brother Have Any Dignity Left?
Siblings are the kind of creatures you only miss when you haven’t seen them in a long time. That’s when the terrifying thought that it would be nice to have them around pops into your head.
But now that they had actually met and were together, Faye Yardley felt it was a classic case of absence making the heart grow fonder.
After everyone had been introduced, Faye Yardley had Willow Yardley set out eight grand dishes worthy of an imperial feast. Combined with the home-style dishes Willow had made earlier, the table was laden with a spread that couldn’t have been more lavish.
"Faye, you’re eating way too well. Compared to you, I’ve been living a life worse than a dog’s," Ethan Yardley said, naturally popping open a beer for himself. He wasn’t stingy with his praise either.
"Heh heh... And who’s the dog?"
"Me. Definitely me."
"Hmph."
As for the other two snickering with their heads down, he could only pretend he didn’t see them.
Ethan Yardley actually had very complicated feelings about the three "teammates" on his sister’s raft.
’Not a single one of them is from the same world.’
But seeing how happy his sister seemed, he forced down the worries in his heart.
"Are you sure you don’t want to join my team? All of my partners are really easy to get along with."
Faye Yardley poured a glass of juice for both Willow Yardley and Yvonne Lynch. Hearing his words, she shook her head. "No, thanks. I don’t like being around a lot of people."
"Heh, your raft probably has the most people on it in the entire server right now. How can you say you don’t like crowds?"
Faye Yardley simply tossed a large crab over to him. "Peel the big claw for me."
Ethan Yardley: "..."
’All right, all right. My sister is still my sister.’
’She won’t listen to a single word she doesn’t want to hear.’
After the meal, Faye Yardley gave him a tour of her small building, even telling him she was saving the room on the first floor for him.
Then, she led him out to the Planting Room.
Yvonne Lynch, who had stayed behind in the house, asked nervously, "Second Sister, do you think her brother won’t like me?"
"If you have time to worry about that, you’d be better off thinking about how to improve your strength so you don’t hold Faye back."
"You’re right, Second Sister. I’m going back to my room." Yvonne Lynch figured she had recovered enough to take another Body Refining Pill.
The moment he stepped into the Planting Room, Ethan Yardley’s eyes lit up. "So this is the Planting Room! The fruits and vegetables in here are growing so well."
"It’s not all thanks to the room’s innate effects. A large part of it is Eamon’s doing." At that moment, Faye Yardley genuinely felt that not killing Eamon right away had been the correct choice.
Trailing beside them, Eamon was so happy his body turned an even brighter green.
Ethan Yardley grunted in acknowledgment. "Looks like I’ll be relying on you for vegetables from now on."
By now, Ethan Yardley had completely come to terms with the fact that his sister was doing better than him and that he would have to rely on her for food.
"Mhm. As long as I’m here, I definitely won’t let you go hungry."
"Strawberries, Clementines, watermelons, napa cabbage, bok choy, loofah... Whoa, you even have a patch of bamboo! Does that mean you’ll have bamboo shoots to eat in a while?"
Ethan Yardley finished his tour and, with an infinitely complex mix of emotions, ruffled his sister’s hair. "Faye, you’ve really grown up."
’When did my little sister suddenly grow up?’
’But in an environment like this, he’d be even more worried if she hadn’t.’
After leaving the Planting Room, the siblings strolled around an empty area of the raft. Faye Yardley suddenly grew curious. "By the way, Bro, you set your robot to look like our late grandmother. When your teammates saw it, did they have to call her Grandma too?" freewebnovel.cσ๓
Ethan Yardley’s face flushed. He had been raised by their grandmother, but his sister hadn’t. He explained, "I knew you wouldn’t be okay with it, and I was thinking you’d join my team so we could merge rafts. So I reconfigured ’Grandma.’ She’s a younger, sister-like version now. I changed her name to Rainie Yardley."
’But he hadn’t expected his sister to refuse to join his team, and she’d even stated bluntly that she wouldn’t merge rafts with him in the future either.’
She also advised him not to merge with anyone casually, not even with his own teammates.
"What’s wrong? Don’t you even trust your own brother?" Ethan reached out to ruffle her hair again, but Faye dodged him.
Faye Yardley shook her head. "It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s that once you merge, you can’t separate again. Besides, if something happens to the primary owner, not only will the raft suffer a certain degree of damage, but can you guarantee that everyone else on board will still be united?"
"Sigh... Our Faye has grown up, thinking things through so carefully now."
As he spoke, Ethan Yardley pointed into the distance. "There are other people’s rafts over there. Can you guarantee your safety?"
"Mhm. I was originally planning to wait for the sea to unfreeze before using the Island Entry Order to leave this area. Now it seems like using it right away might also work, but I’m not sure."
"Then just wait a bit longer. Something like an Island Entry Order must be rare, so don’t waste it."
"Okay, I’ll listen to you. When I’m ready to go to the island, I’ll use an Invitation Card to call you over so we can go together."
A look of relief washed over Ethan Yardley’s face. "Okay."
Faye Yardley checked the time. It was almost seven o’clock. "It’s almost time for my workout. Why don’t you train with me today, Bro?"
"Okay."
They chose a spot in front of the house. With the outdoor solar-powered lights, the area wouldn’t be dark when night fell.
Gavin Donovan’s video call connected quickly.
"Boss, huh? Is that Mr. Yardley? Hello, Mr. Yardley."
Ethan Yardley nodded at him. "Hello."
"Donovan, let’s start the usual training. I’ll do a full run-through first, and you can point out anything I’m not doing right."
"Understood, Boss."
Ethan Yardley watched as his sister and Gavin Donovan on the video call instantly got into the zone. He stepped aside to observe, and it didn’t take long for him to see the method to their madness.
’It was clear the young man his sister hired had real skills—at least, he was a better teacher than Ethan was.’
’If he were to teach his sister himself, he might not do as good a job.’
"Boss, your Strength, agility, and other Attributes should have improved significantly. So when you train, don’t hold back. Just use your full power. That way, I can adjust the training based on your latest physical data."
"Alright, then watch closely."
As Ethan Yardley watched, he eventually moved to the side and started his own workout. He really couldn’t let his sister get too far ahead of him. Seeing the force of her punches now, it was hard for him not to suspect that her physical fitness had already surpassed his.
The damn sense of urgency that came with being an older brother made him more and more anxious the longer he watched, wishing his Four-dimensional Attributes would just shoot up on the spot.
’Damn it all,’ he thought. ’Compared to her, I’ve been way too complacent.’
Faye Yardley had no idea she had unintentionally spurred her brother on again.
Sitting in a rocking chair by the cabin’s fireplace and sipping on grass juice, Eamon watched the siblings training outside in the freezing cold, his heart filled with a complex mix of feelings.
’Do all humans work this hard? It’s so scary... I want to go home, WAAAH...’
The hour-long workout ended. During the break, it occurred to Faye Yardley that since her brother was here in person, she no longer had to send him supplies bit by bit through Red Envelopes. She could just take them out of the warehouse and let him pack them up to take with him.
She immediately set aside half of her basic materials like wood, iron blocks, stones, Crystal, and cloth.
"Bro, hurry up and take them."
As Ethan Yardley gathered the supplies, his feelings grew even more complicated. ’Will I ever have any dignity as a big brother in front of her again?’
