*Ding* *Dong*
The apartment's doorbell rings, which causes the owner's ears to perk up in anticipation. She quickly waltzes toward the door, peeking through the peephole first to make sure who it was.
He's here!!
Gold City's excitement erupted when she saw the iconic red spiky hair on her front door.
"Yes, I'm here."
She quickly unlocked her door and swung it open.
"Quite the place you have here."
"Thanks. It's pretty convenient to have for work."
The young man walks into the apartment, and Gold City quickly locks the door behind him.
"I assume you just did a photoshoot and were about to go to sleep, so I'll make this quick."
The reason the young man came to that conclusion was that Gold City is here, not in Tracen, and she was wearing a nightgown. It's a black silk nightgown. It's pretty daring for nightwear. The young man thinks that Gold City was lucky he is not in the mood for adult activities because only Goddesses know how many babies she'll be pregnant with if he does.
Was I? Did he not like the night gown?
"Here's a print of your training menu, and this is my bank account. You can pay me for every training menu I made for you. I think that's a fair trade."
Gold City excitedly grabbed the printed papers and skimmed through them. The instruction, the parameters, the condition, all of them have been configured to Gold City's goal and current condition. Gold City is smiling from ear to ear as she is reading the training menu. Among all of those, one thing was printed in bold, all-capital, red font, which caught Gold City's attention.
"'Train until you are breathing like a bitch in heat'... What does this mean?"
"A biology lesson, Gold City. A muscle will grow stronger AFTER it has been demolished. After a muscle is destroyed, your body will grow a new one that is stronger and better to prevent it from being destroyed by the same amount of force or weight. This is the basis of muscle growth."
"..."
"For you to get stronger, your body needs to be punished. It needs to have a reason to rebuild a stronger muscle. You cannot do that with half-ass training."
"..."
"From my observation, you were trained like an extremely valuable gem. Your trainer is afraid to ruin you. He is afraid to cause a defect in the world's most precious gem. That's the main reason you haven't grown at all. You're just repeating the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result."
"I see…"
"Regardless of what kind of training you do, you'll fail if you don't suffer. That's why I put those words in bold letters. It's to remind you that you will not gain anything unless you suffer through pain."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure I'm going to suffer. If you want, I can record my moans and grunts for you."
"I don't know what I'll do with that recording. Your money is enough of a payment for me."
What is this feeling of annoyance?
If Gold City were to auction a recording filled with her moans and grunts, there would be a Hunger Games-like situation. People would be killing one another just to get a glimpse of the sound of heaven. Hell, it probably would get classified as a biological weapon. And yet the man acts like having it would just be a burden.
"And besides, why do I need the evidence that you're working hard, Gold City? This is between you and yourself. My task ends with the money and the training menu. Whether you are properly trained or not is up to yourself, PrEtTy FaCe."
"Yes… You're right…"
"Sigh… If being listened to or observed by someone will help you improve, then fine… You can send me the recordings. I require more money for it, though. I'm not examining your moans and grunts for free."
"Of course."
Somehow, the young man turns the tables on Gold City. He should be the one paying her for the sound of heaven, and yet, it's Gold City that has to pay him. To anyone with common sense, the deal doesn't make sense, but Gold City is rich, so her common sense is altered a little bit. She doesn't mind showering the young man with money if it'll help her improve.
"Now that's done, I'm leaving."
"Eh? So soon?"
"Yeah… Goldship taught Sweep Tosho the Ten Shadow Technique, and she accidentally summoned Mahoraga. As usual, I need to clean up after my trainee's mess. Do you have anything else that you want me to do, Gold City?"
Stay with me.
You're the only one who believes me.
Please don't leave me alone.
It's so painful fighting alone.
Stand by my side.
Against the world.
I'll give you anything so…
"Ah… No. It's nothing. Thank you for helping me, Trainer Igo Heita."
"Yeah… Don't slack off, Gold City. My training menu means nothing if you just lazily sit around."
"Say… You told me that my trainer thought of me as the world's most precious gem. In your eyes, what am I?"
"A tool."
"!!"
Shock ran throughout Gold City's body. A good shock. The one that brings her pleasure and joy. For once in her entire life, someone has thought of her as nothing more than a mere hand tool. People sing praise for her, lowering themselves as nothing more than her slaves. Everyone except him.
His glowing crimson eyes feel like they've stripped her bare. Throwing away anything that he doesn't see as necessary for his plan, and judging her with all the values left. The same values that Gold City is trying to improve. In the end, this young man truly is–
The one for me.
"A gem may reach its perfection, but a tool can always improve, Gold City. Hands, carved stones, woods, stones, irons, metals, and finally machines. That's an example of how a shovel can be improved, and it's still being improved even as we speak. That's what you're to me, Gold City. A tool that still has room for improvement."
"A tool… yes…"
"If you're insulted—"
"I'm not. Please think of me as a tool for your enjoyment. Use me in all kinds of matters you like. Just keep improving me, and my body is yours."
Gold City's shoulders relaxed after the young man reassured her of their relationship. In doing so, giving the strap of her night gown a clear and smooth path to slide down. Luckily for her, it's only one of the straps, so not all of her was bare for the young man to see.
"Ummh…"
Well, she is going to sleep anyway. I shouldn't say it at all. It's a good view for me anyway.
"Goodbye, Gold City."
Nobody knows who was luckier that night. The young man who was able to see Gold City in a state many would die for. Or Gold City to finally meet someone who believes in her dream.
The supermodel has her friends who also believe in her dream, but unlike them, the young man can actively help her. He can guide her, train her, and mould her. With his help, she can convince more people to believe in her dream by making her a better runner.
The supermodel peeks her head out of the door for a moment, hoping that the man is actually waiting outside. But her heart tightened when she saw an empty hallway. Gold City curses that he has to be so disinterested with her, but also grateful that he is gone. For if he were still here, Gold City wouldn't let him go.
Gold City returns into her apartment and locked the door behind her. Her eyes never leave the paper as she reads it even more thoroughly than before. The plans all have a reason behind them. Each of the items is accompanied by a reason as to why he chose that for Gold City.
"Fufufuf~~ Mmhh!! Finally!! Yes!!"
Like a little girl, the supermodel swings her legs with joy. She rolls around on the bed, jumping around, giggling, and laughing her heart out. Her heart is blooming, and butterflies are flapping in her stomach. She does 3 sets of somersaults from the bed and lands perfectly on the floor.
"Tada~~~ Ehehehe~~"
The supermodel acts freely after a long time of carrying the burden alone. With the young man in tow, she feels as if a large portion of her doubt has been pushed away, and now she can walk with full confidence once again.
"Oh my~"
The supermodel caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her aura is completely different that even herself was surprised. There was no longer a cold frown on her face, it was replaced with a warm, joyful smile.
"Ehehe~~ What a sinful man."
Only now does Gold City notice the straps of her night gown. The young man had every chance of telling her that her strap had fallen off her shoulder, and yet he did nothing but enjoy the view.
So behind that cold mask, he is still a man, eh?
"Fufufu~~"
A naughty idea erupted from deep inside Gold City's mind. Instead of grabbing the fallen strap, Gold City grabs the one that is still on her shoulder and pushes it off, and effectively, her nightgown. The black silk piece of clothing puddles up on Gold City's feet as she stands there, butt-naked.
"Fufufu~~ Time for my daily progress report."
Gold City pose in front of the mirror and grabs her phone. She opens the camera app and holds it to the mirror. She put her left hand forward with only the index finger uncurled. She positioned the index finger horizontally, and with extreme care.
*Click*
"Fufufu~~"
In the photo, City's index finger is covering her 2 peaks and the cave of wonder. After making sure that there is no extra fan service that might slip up, City send it to the young man with the excuse of reporting progress.
Ah! While I'm at it, I'll change his name in my contact.
Gold City changed the young man's name from 'Trainer Igo Heita' to 'My one and only <3'.
"Fufufu~~ My one and only~~"