Facing each other to do push-ups?

After the warm-up phase ended, Leon sat on the bench to rest.

Rossweise had her hands stuffed in the pockets of her sportswear jacket as she walked towards him. Her ponytail swayed, giving her a lively and playful appearance.

"Not bad, full of energy, all the joints and muscles are awake, right?" Rossweise stood beside him.

"More than awake, it feels like I've been hit by a dragon's force." For Leon, the stimulating effect of the seven-day vacation was no less than that of a dragon's force.

"Very well, then let's officially start trying some synchronized training." Leon shrugged, meaning 'bring it on.'

Rossweise pulled out a rope from the pocket of her sportswear. Leon's heart skipped a beat, and he unconsciously shifted his buttocks to the side of the chair. "What's this? Haven't had enough of the teacher's play, now you want to tie me up?"

Rossweise clicked her tongue lightly and slapped Leon's shoulder with the rope. "Ever heard of the Three-legged race?"

Leon nodded. "I've done this kind of training before at the Dragon Slayer Academy. The instructors said it could increase synchronicity between teammates."

"Although we still don't know what events the St. Heath Academy's Family Sports Day will have, basic exercises like the Three-Legged race are still necessary to practice, don't you think?"

"OK, I have no objections." After a pause, Leon added, "Just don't mess up my rhythm later."

"Haha, thanks for providing me with a morning joke."

After exchanging a few more words, they tied their inner ankles together with the rope. Once they were tied, Leon straightened up, and Rossweise pressed close to his side.

Although there was no obvious feeling before, being suddenly so close made the height difference between the two of them obvious.

Rossweise, wearing her sports shoes, stood at about 5.72 feet tall, which was quite tall for a girl, but still fell short compared to Leon's stature. In their daily interactions as a couple, they usually maintained a certain distance and looked each other in the eye.

Now, with their ankles touching and bodies pressed against each other, if Rossweise wanted to look into Leon's eyes, she had to lift her head slightly. It felt awkward for her. When had the Silver Dragon Queen ever looked up to someone? No, she couldn't raise her head. Look straight ahead, look straight ahead, look straight ahead!

However, she wasn't the only one who noticed the height difference.

"Hey hey, Your Majesty, you've got some leaves on your head. I can see them very clearly. Want me to help you get rid of them?" Leon naturally wouldn't miss such a good opportunity. He had to tease Rossweise a bit.

Rossweise closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "No, thanks."

"Are you sure you don't need help? Okay then."

But Leon intended to continue teasing, aiming for a double kill—

"Hey, Your Majesty, I've noticed you have two cowlicks. You know what they say, one cowlick is okay, but two is a sign of trouble. No wonder you—ouch!"

Before Leon could finish, Rossweise lifted the leg they were tied together with. Leon lost his balance instantly, staggering and falling backward.

Rossweise squatted down leisurely, supporting her chin with one hand, shaking her head and teasing, "Tsk tsk tsk, Leon, being so tall but unable to stand firm, how can that be? Isn't it a waste of your height?"

Leon got up from the ground, dusting off the dirt from his buttocks. "I won't stoop to your level. Let's settle this with a race." With that, Leon strode toward the practice field. But Rossweise remained motionless.

As Leon took a step forward—

"Oops!"

This time, he stumbled forward. He quickly got up, rubbing his reddened nose. "Are you even paying attention, Rossweise? Why didn't you move?"

Rossweise crossed her arms and pretended to realize suddenly, "Oh, we're starting now? Okay, my bad, I was lost in thought."

Leon clicked his tongue, not bothering to argue further with her.

The couple arrived at the central lawn of the practice field. Since it was their first time attempting the Three-Legged race together, and they were unsure of their synchronization, they decided to start on the relatively soft grass. But before they could start running, they encountered another issue.

The side they were pressed together on made it uncomfortable for their arms no matter how they positioned them.

"Don't push me."

"You're the one pushing me."

The Silver Dragon Queen would never tolerate letting someone of the opposite sex get this close to her. It was only Leon who got this treatment. Anyone else would have been scorched to ashes by now. Yet here he was, still saying "Don't push."

"I have an idea," Leon suddenly said.

"What? Wait a minute—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Leon draped his inner arm over Rossweise's back.

However, because Rossweise's back was too petite and Leon's arms were quite long, the excess palm of Leon's hand could only rest on Rossweise's waist. That was Rossweise's ticklish spot.

The queen blushed, feeling embarrassed and helpless. She wanted to argue against Leon's approach, but after some thought, it seemed like the only posture that would allow them to proceed smoothly with the Three-Legged race.

So, Queen Rossweise didn't hold back. She lifted her arm and draped it around Leon's waist. It felt unexpectedly broad and sturdy, with a fantastic texture.

"I'll count: one, step with the outer leg; I'll count: two, step with the leg tied together, OK?" Leon said.

"Got it."

"Alright. Ready… two!"

"What? Two—oops!"

Rossweise hadn't reacted yet and nearly ended up doing a split. Luckily, her flexibility saved her, or else she might have pulled a ligament.

She turned her head back in disbelief. "Why do you count two before one?"

"Why not?" Someone asked innocently, wearing a full-face of innocence.

"You…!"

Rossweise adjusted her posture and immediately realized that Leon was clearly retaliating for the falls earlier. She didn't want to waste any more time arguing with him. They couldn't afford to delay their training.

"Let's start with one, seriously this time, no tickling," Rossweise said.

Leon nodded. The couple adjusted their starting positions again, each embracing the other's waist.

"Ready— one, two, one, two, one…"

In the beginning, they were quite in sync, with hardly any coordination issues. But as the pace increased, a slight dissonance emerged. Leon was slightly slower, while Rossweise was a bit faster.

They exchanged a glance, neither of them speaking, but the rhythm under their feet slowly returned to normal. Seeing this, they couldn't help but share a smile before quickly turning their heads away again.

They ran two laps on the grass without a single fall. Their synchronization was quite impressive. They cooperated with each other, silently adjusting whenever they noticed a problem with the rhythm, even saving time by avoiding verbal communication. To be honest, few real couples could achieve this level of coordination.

After practicing on the grass, they moved onto the hard track. Again, there were very few mistakes, and adjustments were made promptly.

After a while, the couple sat on the grass to rest, also taking the opportunity to untie the rope binding them together.

"Nice and simple," Leon chuckled.

"Hmph, don't get too cocky. Next, you'll have to do some recovery exercises," Rossweise said, nodding toward the side. "Let's do push-ups, five hundred of them."

"H-How many?!"

"Five hundred," Rossweise said. "What's wrong? For the strongest Dragon Slayer, isn't doing five hundred push-ups just as easy as drinking water?"

Since you've put it that way, it would be impolite to refuse. Without hesitation, Leon replied, "Easy, watch me breeze through it!"

He rolled up his sleeves, ready to get started. But after doing a few, he heard Rossweise say, "Wait a minute, just doing push-ups is too boring. Let me add some difficulty for you."

"What are you up to now?"

"Get ready."

Leon got into the push-up position, hands on the ground. Rossweise stood up and slowly walked over. Then—she sat on his lower back.

Leon's arms trembled, not because Rossweise was too heavy, but because of the high-intensity assignments he had been doing recently, making his lower back very sensitive. With Rossweise's softer parts pressing against him, it felt a bit tingly.

Rossweise sat sideways, her tail resting on Leon's shoulder. She gently poked his cheek with the tip of her tail. "Okay, let's begin."

"You really know how to enjoy yourself," Leon gritted his teeth.

But as long as there was a vacation, he would gain the power to retaliate against this dragon annoyance. Endure!

"One…"

"Two…"

"Not bad, not bad."

"Three…"

The bone density of dragons was much higher than that of humans of the same size, so they were much heavier—

Why on earth did this world have to have such a setting?! Did they ever anticipate a human doing push-ups with a dragon on his back?!

But Rossweise was just teasing Leon. After a few, she got off his back.

The push-ups continued.

"Three hundred and twenty-eight… three hundred and twenty-nine…"

Halfway through, Leon's arms trembled. He was pushing himself too hard in his current state. With over a hundred more to go, he probably wouldn't be able to keep it up—

"Can't go on? Let me help you then."

"How?"

Rossweise chuckled and then lay down on the grass. She lifted one of Leon's arms and slid under him. The two of them were now face to face.

Rossweise lay comfortably underneath, smirking at Leon. As they went up and down with the push-ups, Leon couldn't help but occasionally lose control of his descent. A few times, his nose even lightly brushed against Rossweise. Her enticing fragrance drifted into his nostrils.

Rossweise lay there, her ponytail swaying to the side, her bangs scattered across her forehead, exuding a fresh and natural aura, like a girl full of vitality.

"If you can't hold on, you'll end up kissing me. So, think about it. Is it worth enduring the training, or would you rather have an intimate encounter with your least favorite dragon?"

Alright.

Leon realized: this wasn't about doing push-ups, it was about the dignity of a Dragon Slayer!

Damn dragoness! Just wait until I finish my vacation, I'll show you!

"You should… should start a class," Leon said, struggling to do push-ups.

"What kind of class?"

"How to… how to train… prisoners of war."

Rossweise smirked. "I'll consider it."

Rossweise squinted and smiled. "Aren't I already running a class? You're my only student, Leon~ my~ dear~ student~"