Chapter 78: Face-to-Face Push-Ups?
After the warm-up session, Leon sat on a bench to catch his breath.
Roswiser approached him with her hands tucked into the pockets of her workout jacket, her ponytail swinging playfully behind her.
“Not bad! You look spry, all your joints and muscles have awakened, right?” She stood next to him.
“Awakened? More like I’ve been jacked up on Dragon Strength!”
For Leon, a week of vacation was just as exhilarating as any Dragon Strength boost.
“Great! Now we officially begin some teamwork training!”
Leon shrugged, signaling, “Bring it on!”
To his surprise, Roswiser pulled a rope from her jacket pocket.
Leon felt a chill run down his spine, instinctively scooting his b*tt sideways on the bench. “What’s this? Did you not get enough of role-play as a teacher, now we’re doing bondage?!”
Roswiser clicked her tongue, lightly slapping his shoulder with the rope, “Have you heard of three-legged racing?”
Leon nodded, “Yeah, back at the Dragon Slayer Academy, the instructor made us do that kind of training. Said it boosts synchronization among teammates.”
“While I’m not sure what the sports at Saint His Academy are like, basic things like three-legged racing definitely need practice. What do you think?”
“Alright, I have no objections.”
He hesitated, then added, “But don’t throw off my rhythm later.”
“Haha, thanks for the morning chuckle!”
After some playful banter, they tied their ankles together with the rope.
Once secured, Leon straightened up, and Roswiser pressed her side against him.
Normally, height differences weren’t a big deal, but now that they were so close, it became painfully obvious.
Roswiser stood about 1.72 meters in her athletic shoes—a tall girl, but standing next to Leon, she felt a bit dwarfed.
When the couple usually chatted, they kept a respectful distance, maintaining eye level. Now with their ankles glued and sides touching, she had to tilt her head up to meet Leon’s eyes.
It felt awkward.
When had the Silver Dragon Queen ever had to look up at someone?
No way.
She couldn’t tilt her head up.
Focus on what’s ahead! Focus, focus, focus!
However, she wasn’t the only one noticing the height difference.
“Whoa, whoa! Your Majesty, you’ve got a leaf stuck in your hair! Do you want me to help you get it out?” Leon couldn’t resist.
He had to poke Roswiser right in her heart!
Roswiser shut her eyes and ground her teeth, “No need.”
“Are you sure? Alright then.”
But Leon wasn’t done. He had to go for the double k*ll—
“Hey, Your Majesty! I just noticed you’ve got two cowlicks! As the saying goes, one cowlick is good, two cowlicks are bad! No wonder you—whoa!”
Before he could finish, Roswiser lifted the tied leg.
Leon lost his balance and went crashing down, laying flat on his back.
Roswiser squatted down, resting her chin in one hand, shaking her head while teasing, “Tsk tsk, Leon. You’re so tall, how can you not stay upright? You’re just wasting your height!”
Leon scrambled up, brushing the dirt off his backside. “N-no need to get into a debate with you. Let’s see whose true skills shine when we run!”
Saying that, he marched towards the practice field.
But Roswiser didn’t budge.
Leon took a step—
“Uh-oh!”
This time, he stumbled forward.
He quickly stood up, rubbing his now-red nose. “Why aren’t you moving, Roswiser?!”
Roswiser crossed her arms and feigned surprise. “Oh, is it starting? Sorry, I zoned out for a moment.”
Leon clicked his tongue and decided he wouldn’t waste more breath arguing with her.
The couple made their way to the grassy field in the practice area.
Since it was their first attempt at three-legged racing, they didn’t know how well they would sync. Jumping onto a hard track too hastily might hurt!
So, they decided to find their rhythm on the soft grass first.
But before they could properly start running, they noticed another issue.
No matter how they positioned their arms, it was uncomfortable on the side that was stuck together.
“Stop squishing me!”
“You stop squishing me!”
The Silver Dragon Queen had never tolerated such close proximity to a male before!
Leon was the only lucky one—anyone else would have been vaporized by her glare.
And here he was whining about “stop squishing!”
“I’ve got an idea!” Leon suddenly exclaimed.
“What? Wait a—”
Before she could protest, Leon threw his inner arm over Roswiser’s back.
But since her back was so petite and his wingspan was long, his hand ended up resting on her waist.
Right where her ticklish spot was.
Roswiser’s face turned beet red, both embarrassed and helpless.
She wanted to argue against Leon’s move, but after thinking about it, this seemed to be the only pose that would let them manage the three-legged racing smoothly.
So, the Silver Dragon Queen decided to play along.
She lifted her arm and placed it on his waist.
The sensation felt unexpectedly solid and satisfying.
“On my count, we’ll step with the outer leg first; I’ll say one, then we step with the tied leg, got it?” Leon instructed.
“Sure.”
“Alright. Ready… two!”
“Wait! Two—whoa!”
Roswiser barely had time to react before she nearly did the splits.
Thanks to her flexibility, she managed to avoid a pulled ligament.
She turned back, speechless, “Does your counting always start at two?”
“Is that not allowed?” Leon asked with innocent eyes.
“You—!”
Roswiser regained her stance, realizing Leon was clearly getting back at her for the two previous tumbles.
She didn’t want to waste any more time arguing and needed to keep the training on track.
“Let’s start with one, no more messing around,” she said.
Leon nodded.
They reset their starting positions, wrapping their arms around each other’s waists.
“Ready—one, two, one, two, one…”
In the beginning, they truly synced up, coordinating perfectly with no awkward movements.
But as their speed picked up, things began to get a bit chaotic.
Leon slowed down a fraction, while Roswiser sped up a touch.
They exchanged glances, words unspoken, but the rhythm underfoot began to align again.
They couldn’t help but smile at each other.
Yet, just as quickly, they turned away.
After running a couple of laps on the grass, they hadn’t fallen once—an impressive display of synchronization.
They managed to work together well, quietly adjusting when any rhythm issues popped up, even skipping verbal communication.
Honestly, this level of teamwork was something even many real couples couldn’t achieve!
Once their grass practice was done, they moved onto the hard track.
Again, mistakes were few and adjustments were timely.
After a bit more training, the couple sat down on the grass to rest, untying the rope that bound them.
“That was easy-peasy,” Leon chuckled.
“Hmph, don’t get too cocky! Next, you need to do some recovery exercises.”
Roswiser nodded towards the side. “Alright, push-ups—five hundred of them.”
“How… how many?!”
“Five hundred, I said.”
She added, “Come on, isn’t five hundred push-ups a walk in the park for the strongest Dragon Slayer?”
Since she had said that much, it would be rude to back down now.
Leon quipped without hesitation, “Easy! Watch me clear this in one go!”
He rolled up his sleeves and dove right in.
But after just a few push-ups, he heard Roswiser say,
“Wait a minute! Doing regular push-ups is too boring. I’ll add some difficulty!”
“What are you up to now?”
“Get ready.”
Leon positioned himself on the ground for push-ups.
To his surprise, Roswiser stood up and slowly walked over, before—
Sitting right on his waist.
Leon’s arms trembled.
But it wasn’t because Roswiser was heavy; it was that the past few intense days had made his waist quite sensitive.
With Roswiser’s soft self resting on top, it felt a bit tingly.
Roswiser sat sideways, letting her tail drape over Leon’s shoulder, poking his cheek lightly with the tip of her tail. “Alright, let’s begin.”
“You sure know how to… enjoy yourself,” Leon grunted through gritted teeth.
But as long as there was a vacation, he had the power to retaliate against this pesky Mother Dragon—he would endure!
“One…”
“Two…”
“Hey, not too shabby!”
“Three…”
The Dragon Race’s bone density is way heavier than humans of the same size—
Why on earth would this world create such a setup?
Hadn’t it anticipated that one day a human would be doing push-ups beneath a Mother Dragon?
But Roswiser only wanted to tease Leon; after a few more, she hopped off him.
And the push-ups continued.
“Three hundred twenty-eight… three hundred twenty-nine…”
Halfway, Leon’s arms trembled.
He was starting to feel the strain after all that.
With over a hundred left, he wasn’t sure he could make it—
“Can’t take it anymore? Let me help you out.”
“How will you help?”
Roswiser chuckled and lay back on the grass.
She lifted one of Leon’s arms, then wriggled beneath him.
There they were, facing each other, one above the other.
Roswiser relaxed beneath, gazing mischievously at Leon.
With the push-ups now an up-and-down affair, it was hard for Leon to control his distance.
Once in a while, he even lightly brushed his nose against Roswiser.
Her sweet scent wafted into Leon’s nostrils.
Roswiser lay there with her ponytail off to the side, bangs framing her forehead, looking like a fresh and cheerful girl.
“If you can’t hold on, you’ll have to kiss me. So think about it: is it worth grinding through the workout or getting cozy with the dragon you dislike the most?”
Ah!
Leon got it:
This was about more than push-ups; it was about the dignity of a Dragon Slayer!
d*mn that Mother Dragon! Wait till my vacation is over—I’ll settle the score!
“You should really… consider starting a class,” Leon panted while struggling through his push-ups.
“What kind of class?”
“How to… train… prisoners of war.”
Roswiser smirked with her eyes narrowed, “Aren’t I already running a class? You’re my only student, Leon~!”
