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

Roswitha, hands tucked in the jacket pockets of her tracksuit, walked toward him.

The ponytail at the back of her head bounced with her steps, making her look lively and playful.

"Not bad. Feeling energized? All your joints and muscles fully awakened?" Roswitha said as she stood beside him.

"Awakened? More like I just popped a Black Dragon Bolus."

For Leon, the stimulation of his seven-day vacation was no less effective than the Black Dragon Bolus.

"Good. Now, let's officially begin some coordination training."

Leon shrugged, as if to say, “Lay it all on me.”

Roswitha pulled a rope out of her tracksuit pocket.

Leon felt his heart skip a beat and subconsciously scooted a little to the side of the bench. "What are you doing? Didn't get enough from the teacher-play fantasy? Now you're moving on to bondage?"

Roswitha clicked her tongue in mock annoyance and lightly slapped Leon's shoulder with the rope. "Ever heard of three-legged races?"

Leon nodded. "Yeah, back at the Dragon Slaying Academy, our instructor made us do these. Said it improves team synchronization."

"We still don’t know the exact events Saint Hiss Academy's family sports day will have, but something as basic as a three-legged race seems worth practicing. Don’t you think?"

"OK, no objections."

After a short pause, he added, "Just don’t end up slowing me down later."

"Ha, thanks for the morning joke," Roswitha quipped.

After a brief exchange of banter, the two tied their inner ankles together with the rope.

When the knot was secured, Leon straightened up, and Roswitha stood pressed close to his side.

It had never been so apparent before, but with them standing so close, the height difference between the two became exceedingly clear.

With sports shoes on, Roswitha's height was approximately 5.6 feet, tall by most standards for women. Yet standing next to Leon, her height seemed a bit lacking.

Usually, when the couple talked, there was always some distance between them, allowing them to look each other in the eye.

Now, however, their ankles were tied together, and they stood shoulder-to-shoulder; for Roswitha to meet Leon’s gaze, she had to slightly tilt her head upward.

She felt a bit awkward.

Since when did the Silver Dragon Queen ever have to look up to someone?

Unacceptable.

She wouldn’t lift her head.

Eyes forward, eyes forward, eyes forward!

Yet Leon also started to notice their height gap.

"Oh wow, wow, wow. Your Majesty, your head has leaves stuck on it—I see it so clearly. Want me to help you brush them off?"

Of course, Leon wouldn’t miss such a golden opportunity. He had to take a good jab at Roswitha's pride.

Roswitha closed her eyes, gritting her teeth. "No need."

"Really no need? Alright then."

But Leon wasn’t done yet—he was out for a double kill.

"Hey, Your Majesty, you know, you have two hair whorls on the back of your head. There’s a saying: one whorl good, two whorls bad. No wonder you— Whoa, hey!"

Before Leon could finish his sentence, Roswitha abruptly raised the leg tied to his, knocking him off balance.

Leon flailed once before falling flat onto his back.

Roswitha crouched down leisurely, rested her chin against her hand, and teased while shaking her head.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Leon, for someone so tall, how can you not keep your balance? What a waste of height."

Leon got up from the ground, brushed the dirt off his backside, and said, "I-I’m not stooping to your level. Let’s settle this on the track."

With that, Leon began walking toward the practice field.

But Roswitha remained still.

Leon took a step forward—

"Ow!"

This time, he tripped forward.

He stood back up with a grunt, rubbing his now-red nose. "Move, Roswitha! Why aren’t you moving?"

Roswitha crossed her arms and pretended to have just realized something. "Oh, so we're starting now? Got it. My bad, zoned out a bit there."

Leon clicked his tongue in frustration but didn’t waste any more words.

The couple made their way to the open grassy lawn in the center of the training field.

Since it was their first time attempting a three-legged race together, they didn’t know how well they'd synchronize. Falling on a hard running track would be painful, so they decided to get a feel for the coordination on soft grass first.

However, they encountered an immediate new problem before even starting to run.

On the side they were tied together, it was impossible to find a comfortable position for their arms.

"Stop squishing me."

"You stop squishing me."

In the past, the Silver Dragon Queen would never allow a man to stand this close to her.

Leon was the sole exception. Anyone else would’ve been reduced to ashes by now.

And yet, this guy had the audacity to complain about her crowding him.

"I’ve got an idea," Leon suddenly said.

"What? Wait a sec—"

Before Roswitha could finish her thought, Leon looped his arm around her back.

But since her frame was delicate and his arm span was so long, his hand ended up resting on her waist.

That happened to be Roswitha's ticklish spot.

The queen blushed, caught between embarrassment and resignation.

She wanted to protest Leon's method but had to admit—this was likely the only practical position that would allow them to coordinate smoothly in a three-legged race.

As the Silver Dragon Queen, she wasn’t about to be outdone.

So Roswitha lifted her own arm and draped it across Leon's waist.

Oddly enough, his waist felt wide and solid. Surprisingly nice to touch.

"I’ll count to one for our outside leg, and two for the tied leg. Got it?" Leon asked.

"Got it."

"Alright. Ready... two!"

"Huh? Two—? Damn it!"

Roswitha nearly did the splits.

Thankfully, her flexibility was good enough to keep her from pulling a ligament.

She turned her head in exasperation. "Your family starts counting from two?"

"Is that not allowed?" Leon asked, feigning innocence.

"You!..."

Roswitha adjusted her posture and quickly realized what was happening. Clearly, Leon was trying to take petty revenge for his earlier pratfalls.

She decided to let it go—no sense wasting more time arguing.

"Start with one. Do it properly, and stop messing around," she said curtly.

Leon nodded.

The couple set their starting position again, arms wrapped around each other’s waists.

"Ready—one, two, one, two, one..."

Their first few steps were in perfect sync, with almost no missteps.

However, as the pace picked up, their rhythm started to falter slightly.

Leon slowed down just a little while Roswitha sped up.

They exchanged a quick glance, silently communicating as their movements naturally began to realign.

A soft smile crept onto both their faces—although they were careful to quickly look away.

After successfully completing two laps on the grass without a single fall, they agreed they already had an impressive level of coordination.

There was a natural give-and-take between them. When the rhythm wavered, they would wordlessly adjust without needing much time to recover.

To be fair, not even most married couples could achieve that type of seamless partnership.

Once they had warmed up sufficiently on the grass, the pair moved onto the hard running track.

Even here, they made few mistakes and were quick to get back on tempo whenever needed.

After several rounds of practice, the two sat down on the grass, undoing the rope that had bound their ankles.

"Piece of cake," Leon said with a grin.

"Hmph, don’t get too full of yourself. Next, you’ll need to do some endurance training," Roswitha said, nodding toward a spot nearby. "Push-ups. Five hundred."

"How many?!"

"Five hundred," she repeated.

Roswitha added, "What’s the matter? For the strongest Dragon Slayer, shouldn’t five hundred push-ups be as easy as drinking water?"

Since she’d framed it that way, there was no backing down now.

Without hesitation, Leon replied, "Easy. Watch me clear it in one go."

He rolled up his sleeves and immediately got into position.

But just after a few reps, Roswitha interjected,

"Hold it. Doing plain push-ups is way too boring. Let me add some difficulty for you."

"What are you planning now?"

"Stay down."

Leon maintained a push-up starting position, watching out of the corner of his eye as Roswitha slowly approached.

Then—

She sat on his lower back.

Leon’s arms gave a slight quiver.

The tremor wasn’t because of Roswitha’s weight but rather due to days of grueling assignments making his lower back surprisingly sensitive lately.

Compounding the issue was Roswitha’s soft form pressing against him, leaving him faintly tingly.

Roswitha sat sideways, her tail draped over Leon’s shoulder. Lightly, she tapped his cheek with its tip. "Well, get started."

"You really know how to *enjoy yourself,* don’t you?" Leon gritted out through clenched teeth.

Still, Leon knew he gained certain privileges during vacation periods. He could endure—and eventually claim sweet payback on this mischievous dragon.

"One..."

"Two..."

"Hmm. Not bad, not bad."

"Three..."

Dragon Clan bones were far denser than their human counterparts, making them significantly heavier.

Why did the rules of this world have to work like this?

Did no one foresee someone ending up doing push-ups with a dragon sitting on them someday?

Thankfully, Roswitha didn’t seem intent on torturing him for long. After a few push-ups, she gracefully slid off his back.

The workout continued.

"Three hundred twenty-eight... three hundred twenty-nine..."

By halfway through, Leon’s arms were visibly trembling.

The remaining reps seemed like an insurmountable task—

"Can’t keep up? Alright, let me lend you a hand."

"How should I help?"

Roswitha let out a soft chuckle and then lay down on the grass.

She lifted one of Leon's arms and slid herself underneath him.

The two ended up one above the other, face-to-face.

Roswitha lay comfortably below, looking up at Leon with a mischievous grin.

With each push-up, as Leon moved up and down, it was hard for him to control the distance on his way down.

A few times, their noses even lightly brushed against each other.

The pleasant scent on Roswitha's body took the opportunity to fill Leon’s nostrils once again.

She just lay there, her ponytail draped to the side, bangs scattered naturally on her forehead, looking fresh and vibrant—a picture-perfect energetic girl.

"If you can't keep going, you'll end up kissing me. So think about it: will you grit your teeth and finish the training, or have a moment of... intimate contact with the Dragon Clan you despise the most?"

Alright.

Leon understood:

This wasn't about doing push-ups; it was about the dignity of a Dragon Slayer!

Damn dragoness! Just wait—when my vacation’s over, you’ll see how I deal with you!

"You should… should start a class," Leon said, struggling as he strained with each push-up.

"A class for what?"

"How to… train… prisoners of war."

Roswitha squinted her eyes and smiled slyly. "Aren't I already teaching one? And you, dear Leon~, are my one and only student!"