Within an office shrouded with luxurious furniture and walls clad with golden coating, a young fat girl found herself surrounded by numerous gorgeous ladies. She sat on a comfy chair in front of an office table that belonged to the owner of the establishment.
Her name was Mercedes, someone with long-brunette hair and sapphire-like eyes. She wore eyeglasses while gazing upon the one that brought her to the lavish office.
She was somewhat confused as to what she was doing here. But it didn't take that much thing to realize the identity of the one that brought her here. The young lady before Mercedes was the owner of Apate, one of the best entertainment hubs in the Imperium.
"From the looks of it... It seems that you already piece things together."
"I don't need to explain who am I, correct?" The young lady calmly asked while having an innocent smile plastered on her face. Though innocent, Mercedes couldn't trust a single ounce of it.
"The reason I followed you was because of the knowledge you have about communication."
"You seem to know a lot about it. Perhaps, you are a master of communication. However, are you really intending to teach me?" Mercedes uttered with a cold tone. She wasn't happy to be dragged into a hostess club.
"Apologies for that. I am Astarte, the owner of Apate and the Duchess of the Imperium."
"I don't need to hear your title. What I want is your words about your willingness to teach me." Mercedes didn't want to hear more about talks regarding one's title. She couldn't care less about it.
"The rough way you speak is something I have already warned you to avoid. Are you really willing to learn from me?" Astarte questioned while directly staring at Mercedes's sapphire-like irises.
"Hahahaha, sorry for that. It was my fault for not applying your teachings, teacher." Mercedes had a sly smile while Astarte also couldn't help but slightly chuckle.
Astarte wasn't bothered by Mercedes's words in the slightest. To be honest, she was somewhat interested in Mercedes. A young girl who can be considered ugly. Having clothing that doesn't belong to the Imperium, nor having a personality that far resembles women in the city.
Mercedes had an unfounded confidence that seemed to stem from nothing. Either she was an idiot who was arrogant, or she really deserved the unfounded confidence she had.
The way she spoke was as rough as the conversations of men. The way she presents herself makes her resemble a pig more than a human. While she has an applaudable spirit, that wouldn't be enough in the real world.
Astarte knew that spirit could only bring one so far until it became the thing that dragged them to the bottomless pit of fate.
"Anyhow, I know you're curious about how I would teach you. But I won't actually be the one teaching you. They will be your teachers." Astarte pointed at the gorgeous lady beside Mercedes.
"Well then, ladies. It's time for examination." Astarte's innocent smile became a smirk that set Mercedes off. Mercedes cautiously looked around as the gorgeous ladies that might as well be models surrounded her with their humongous chests.
"Your body is extremely fat and loose. Your face is fortunately chubby, and your neck can still be seen. You're also rather tall, though it gets negated when the width of your body exceeds the usual."
"Your eyes are beautiful and clear. You have freckles, though they can disappear with enough effort. Your skin is pale white, probably because you haven't gotten out of your abode that much."
"You have potential, kid. You just need a little bit of hard work, determination, and vision." One of the gorgeous ladies investigated every part of Mercedes's appearance. She was someone with purplish hair and a seductive face.
"Vision?" Mercedes questioned since she was a bit confused as to what the lady meant about it. Does the lady mean her dream for the future? Was it about her outlook on where she would stand in the next decade of her life?
"You're assuming a lot of things, kid. You're correct with each and every one of them. But what I mean about vision is rather simple. Instead of thinking about where you stand, have a short thought about what you would like to look like in the future."
"Do you want to be an ugly lady who doesn't take a bath because there's work? Do you want to be a woman with the worse makeup skills possible? Do you want to be someone who's single because she couldn't talk with other people?"
"Or do you wish to be someone hated because of your roughness?"
"Such are the questions I want you to ask yourself, kid." The gorgeous lady seductively said while the others nodded in agreement.
Mercedes thought about it for a short while. She wondered what she wanted to look like in the future. She thought of standing in a mansion and comfortably sleeping while playing games. But she never thought of her appearance in the future.
However, it was easy for an answer to emerge in her mind.
"I want to become the best, whether it be makeup, beauty, communication, and anything else." Mercedes honestly replied while the others chuckled after hearing her.
"You're quite a greedy kid, but as your teachers. We have no choice. We will accept the challenges you have given us. Since this is the order of the Duchess, and our intrigued about how much higher we can bring you."
Hearing the words of the gorgeous lady, Mercedes was somewhat amazed. For such a lady to be working in a hostess club, for sure, Mercedes would have misunderstood her as some noble of some sort.
Mercedes knew that this was a sign of how much the quality of this establishment stood. They were higher than anything she had ever seen, whether it be on the internet or the real world.
'Well, that isn't much since I might as well be ignorant of my world.' Mercedes silently thought to herself before hearing the words of the gorgeous lady. "Shall we start, then? We'll forge you to become what you want, kid. Be sure not to cry."
"Oh, trust me. I'm done crying." Mercedes responded and stood up from the expensive comfy chair. The gorgeous ladies left the office while Mercedes followed them. The young lady, Astarte, glances at them while waving her goodbye.
To reach the Apex of communication was what Mercedes wanted. She didn't want to be embarrassed while talking. She also didn't want to unintentionally insult other people while conversing with them.
"The first thing you need to do is smile." Amongst the gorgeous ladies was an elegant one. She had an emotionless expression on her face. Though, it disappeared and was replaced with a radiant smile that blinded Mercedes herself.
'Oh, god. How bright...' It was unexpected for Mercedes as the seemingly emotionless lady was somewhat good at smiling. That smile was enough to destroy some idols in her world and put them six feet underneath the ground.
To be honest, most of them deserved to be idols in her world.
"A smile will change how a person looks at you."
"You really don't have to smile. Even your body language will be enough to make another person's perspective content."
"But since this is the basic, you'll practice smiling."
The elegant lady explained, and such was how Mercedes's smiling training began. At first, she was extremely bad at it. Her smile always broke apart in five seconds. A true disappointment for Mercedes.
"No need to force yourself to smile. Smile happily and naturally. Nothing more is needed." Mercedes's first teacher was shaking her head. She expected the newly arrived girl to be bad at expressions. But even she didn't expect it to be this bad.
Mercedes went through the training again. She practiced for hours and hours without stopping. Hours passed by nearly in an instant, and she didn't even notice it. She trained to smile while remembering the advice given to her.
Though, no matter how much she had done or how many hours she spent. She couldn't smile as well as her teachers. Mercedes had a high attribute of spirit. Nevertheless, she wasn't resistant to disappointment.
Mercedes stopped while her teacher had already left. She was given a comfortable room to stay, and it was old yet better than her former room. Walking to the windows, Mercedes gazed upon the stars.
"It's already night, huh."
Working hard for hours and hours, Mercedes didn't feel the growth she had expected. If this was before, she would have already given up. But she understood that times have changed. She wasn't the Mercedes who was shrouded with greed and sloth.
"Mom, I want to help you."
Mercedes couldn't help but smile as she imagined herself to be working alongside her mother.
*BAM!!!*
The doors were busted open while numerous figures entered through the window. Mercedes couldn't move a single muscle as chills echoed through her spine. She was confused as to what had happened and was a bit scared.
But it seems that her worry was unfounded.
With the blazing darkness slowly fading in the background, Mercedes saw the ones who entered the room. It was none other than her teachers who had been stalking her from afar since the beginning.
"So the owner wasn't wrong, huh."
"She really has potential."
"I guess we have been looking at it in the opposite way."
"Contrary to her horrendous appearance, she's good at smiling."
Amongst the gorgeous teachers was the emotionless lady who taught her to smile. She stepped forward and leaned toward Mercedes. She had a proud smile on her face, as if her baby finally took a single step.
"It looks like you can smile, Mercedes."