76 Dad, You Need to Get Fit (4K Words)
The next morning, the family of four stood in the front yard waiting for the Leviathan school bus.
Leon had two heavy black circles under his eyes, feeling as if he might float away and couldn’t stand upright.
Noia and Moon looked at him with curiosity.
“Why do you look like you haven’t slept a wink again?” Noia asked.
“Uh… stayed up too late doing homework,” Leon replied, dizzy.
Noia raised an eyebrow, “Homework? Do adults have homework too?”
“Kids have their homework, and adults obviously have adult homework,” Roswiser chimed in to clarify.
Noia nodded, no longer probing.
Moon blinked her pretty eyes, looked at Mom, then Dad, and excitedly declared, “Moon has discovered a super incredible pattern!”
The three of them turned their attention to the little girl.
“It’s like this: when Mom is in good shape, Dad gets all weak; and when Dad is healthy, Mom gets all weak! Right? It’s definitely like that!”
Though it sounded a bit odd, it did seem… true.
The relationship between Roswiser and Leon was like a seesaw; one always gets the boost, while the other gets the dip.
As for who was the “teacher” and who was the “student,” that depended on who took control first.
Leon patted Moon’s little head, “Good girl, you’re so smart! If anyone ever says you just know how to be cute, I’ll be the first to fight them.”
The family chatted away until Leviathan’s figure started to appear, slowly hovering above the Holy Temple.
Noia jogged over, turned around, and waved at them.
A beam of light shot up from below, transporting Noia onto the Leviathan.
The giant dragon slowly took off, disappearing into the horizon.
Leon scooped up Moon, “What do you want to play today?”
Moon thought for a moment, then responded, “Let’s go to the practice field and work out!”
“Work out? Since when did you develop this hobby?”
Moon shook her little head quickly to explain, “It’s not a hobby! I see Dad always looking weak, so it must be because you need more exercise. I’ll have to encourage you to work out more, which is good for Mom too.”
Upon hearing this, both parents flushed with embarrassment.
Roswiser quickly interjected, “How is Dad working out good for Mom? It’s all for his own sake.”
“No, no! If Dad gets better, he can protect Mom better, right?”
Oh.
So, it’s a misunderstanding, haha~
“And I want to practice more and get stronger too!”
The Dragon Race’s thirst for power was ingrained in their bones.
Even a good little dragon girl like Moon, who wasn’t inclined to fight, couldn’t help but want to become “better.”
She wasn’t trying to defeat anyone; in her own words, she just wanted to keep up with her big sister.
Leon naturally wouldn’t refuse, “Alright, Dad will take you.”
He carried Moon to the back courtyard of the Holy Temple.
Roswiser thought for a moment, then turned to head upstairs.
The father-daughter duo arrived at the racetrack of the practice field and began warming up.
Leon explained some simple warm-up movements and their benefits to Moon.
“First is stretching. During warm-ups, stretching is very important. It allows the body to gradually relax, increases flexibility, and reduces the risk of injury during exercise.”
As he spoke, Leon spread his legs to shoulder-width, lifted one arm, and placed the other hand on his waist, demonstrating a very standard stretching move.
Moon watched seriously and started copying him.
“Next is walking warm-ups. It helps the body wake up quickly and gradually adapt to increasing difficulty and pace.”
Father and daughter quickly shuffled back and forth at the starting point.
Leon took lengthy strides but moved slowly; Moon, with her short legs, could only rapidly flail her little legs.
After doing several warm-ups, they were ready to start running officially.
“Take me with you,” came Roswiser’s voice from behind them.
The pair turned around.
Roswiser had changed out of her usual long dress; now she was in a light sporty outfit, her long silver hair tied in a high ponytail swaying back and forth, making her appear tall and capable.
“Mom, don’t you have to work today?” Moon asked.
“Hmm, not too busy these days. Why, don’t you want me to join?”
“No, no! It’d be great if Mom could join us!”
Roswiser bent down and ruffled Moon’s hair, “Then you better give it your all later; I won’t go easy on you.”
“Okay! I won’t go easy on you either!” The little dragon girl was fired up, full of spirit.
Leon stretched his ankles and teased, “You and that little body of yours that barely moves; are you sure you can keep up? Don’t twist an ankle!”
“Ah, I really don’t move around much.”
Roswiser stretched and did several lunges, “The last time I broke a sweat was when I nearly beat you down in practice.”
“Correction: narrowly won, not beat down.” Leon attempted to save face over his previous defeat.
“Call it what you like; I won either way.”
“Hey, you mother dragon—”
“Don’t like it? Let’s have another round.”
“Yay! Dad and Mom should have another round!” Moon cheered, clearly enjoying the show.
Leon quickly crouched down and covered his daughter’s mouth, “Kids shouldn’t always think about fighting; it’s rude.”
Moon tilted her head, innocently asking, “Dad, can’t you beat Mom?”
Leon’s face turned red, “W-What do you mean beat? Dad just doesn’t want to hurt Mom.”
The little dragon girl looked puzzled, “Really, Dad?”
Leon felt a bit guilty but remained stubborn, “Really… of course, it’s true.”
“Oh, I thought you really couldn’t beat Mom~”
No.
How did she learn such a heart-stabbing comeback at such a young age?
That’s something you can’t pick up from your mother, sweetie!
Roswiser took her place at the starting line. “Alright, whether you can beat me or not, we’ll see about that later. For now, let’s see who can run longer.”
This wasn’t a speed race; it was a stamina challenge.
Leon had a feeling he knew what Roswiser’s next words would be.
“You’d better hang in there, Leon~”
She lowered her voice and subtly mouthed to Leon, “Classmate~”
Ha, predictable.
Leon also stepped up to the starting line.
Moon stood in between her parents.
Leon picked up a stone from the ground and tossed it into the air.
As the stone fell, a spark of electricity shot out from his fingertip, and the stone shattered on impact.
The three of them took off running.
Once they started, Leon and Roswiser slowed down their pace to accommodate Moon.
They formed a line, with Moon leading, followed by Roswiser, and Leon trailing behind.
“Don’t you tuck your tail away when you run?” Leon asked.
“The tail helps with balance. When we dragons—uh, I—sprint full speed, it’s fewer worries,” Roswiser replied from the front. “So, how about considering letting your tail out too?”
“Thanks, but nah.”
“Hmph.”
The practice field’s racetrack was about four hundred meters long.
Moon had just started practicing, and after two laps, she stopped to rest.
And that meant Leon and Roswiser had entered the actual competition phase.
This couple always wanted to compete with each other in everything.
Including but not limited to:
Whose daughter liked them more, which one of them had dominated the elder sister more times, and who had the power of initiative during conversations.
Even now, running with their kid had turned into a competition.
Well, they were quite spirited!
The Silver Dragon Race was already a race to the top speed-wise, so when it came to running against Roswiser, Leon actually didn’t have much of an advantage.
Not to mention he had just submitted seven homework assignments last night.
With all that “cultural study” and “sports training,” how can a normal person handle this?
But once he stood next to Roswiser at the starting line, there was no turning back.
One of the Dragon Slayer’s mottos:
Born to battle, rest only in d*ath! —
Twenty minutes later.
Roswiser kicked Leon’s shoulder, “Conceding yet?”
Leon lay sprawled on the ground in a ‘big’ shape, eyes closed, gasping for breath, “N-No, not conceding.”
“Not conceding? Fine, get up and keep running.”
“Let’s choose another day to battle! You have to give me two days to practice.”
Roswiser shrugged, “I can give you two years, or even two and a half if that helps.”
She crouched down and poked Leon’s face with her tail, “Then, dear Mr. Leon, can you show us how much you love baths? It’s good for your body~”
Leon was left speechless.
“Your grudge-holding will get you into big trouble!”
“Thanks, that’s exactly how I roll.”
Roswiser stood up, took off her sporty jacket, revealing a very spicy and sexy sports tank top.
She tied the jacket around her waist and turned to Moon, “Let’s go, Moon! Mom will continue to accompany you for other exercises. Dad is too weak!”
Team Mom and Daughter, huh?
Alright, just wait for me!
Thirty years east, thirty years west; don’t underestimate old Dad!
At dinner.
“Dad’s weak……”
“Open wide, Daddy, ah~~”
“Ah~~”
At the dinner table, Leon lay on his side, looking like he had been drained of vitality, while Moon cautiously fed him a spoonful of fried rice.
Roswiser sat beside them, legs crossed, leisurely sipping tea after the meal, “Old arms and legs are no good. Don’t push yourself.”
“It must be because of last night’s homework. If I hadn’t stayed up so late, I would have definitely won you today,” Leon said.
“Really? Then do you want to continue your homework tonight?”
Hearing this, Leon sprang up, grabbing Moon, “I promised Moon that I would tell her a story tonight.”
Moon, holding the spoon, blinked in confusion, “Dad, did we have this agreement?”
“Not until now. Now we do!”
“Oh, okay!”
Roswiser chuckled, putting down her teacup and standing up. “A maid will come to clean the table shortly; you two don’t tell stories too late tonight. Rest early.”
“Got it, Mom~”
Roswiser waved goodbye, leaving the dining room and heading back to her room.
After that little scuffle with the two, Roswiser had also worked up quite a sweat. She stripped off her sports tank top and pants, leaving just her undergarments, and went barefoot into the bathroom.
Warm water flowed over her delicate skin, washing away all the fatigue from the day.
After a quick shower, Roswiser emerged wrapped in a towel.
She then sat in front of her vanity, starting to work on her damp hair.
Her eyes inadvertently caught the gift that Isar had given her when she left the Red Dragon Holy Temple yesterday.
After returning home, she hadn’t even eaten dinner, jumping right into “homework” with Leon.
So, she hadn’t had the chance to unwrap the gift yet.
Roswiser let her hair down and reached for the gift box, then opened it.
Inside was actually—
“A swimsuit?”
The swimsuit was dominantly silver-white, made of ample fabric, rather modest—
Modest to the point that it didn’t seem like something a sister would gift.
One would think that the scheming red dragon would send something a little more risqué, right?
Roswiser couldn’t understand.
But she still safely placed the swimsuit in her wardrobe.
“Oh, it seems Noia and Moon have never been to the beach, huh? I should take them to see it when I have the chance.”
Muttering to herself, Roswiser closed the wardrobe.
As she turned around, she caught a glimpse of a figure on the balcony.
“Sherry?”
“It’s me, sorry, Your Majesty. I didn’t know you just… got out of the shower, so I’ve been waiting here.”
Roswiser adjusted her towel above her chest, sufficient to cover her dragon pattern, and headed to the balcony.
“It’s alright.”
Roswiser said, “Did you find out anything about Taige Lawrence?”
Previously, when Sherry returned to report, she said that Leon’s master Taige Lawrence had seemingly vanished into thin air—no matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t track him down.
This time, she wondered if there would be any good news.
“It’s now confirmed that Taige Lawrence and his wife are no longer in the Empire; they moved away about a year ago.”
Sherry said, “All their belongings were donated to a local orphanage, and the cows and sheep from their farm were given to the neighbors. Except for… uh…”
Roswiser raised an eyebrow, “Except for what?”
“Except for a donkey. The neighbors said that when the Taige couple moved away, they specifically took that donkey with them.”
Is that donkey the family mascot for Leon?
Seems like he cherished it from childhood to adulthood.
Roswiser felt a bit speechless, even wanting to laugh.
But she couldn’t let herself appear too frivolous in front of Sherry, so she simply cleared her throat to ease the awkwardness, “Ahem—alright, I got it. In that case, continue searching for Taige’s whereabouts outside the Empire and report any news to me promptly.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Not at all, I’ll take my leave now.”
As her words fell, the graceful figure flickered and vanished in front of Roswiser.
Roswiser walked to the balcony, leaning against the railing, looking out toward the mountains and forests shrouded in nighttime, her thoughts stirring.
“Leon’s master… why would he leave the Empire?”
