Actually, There’s Someone at Your Workplace Who Likes You ~ I’m Being Transferred to a Sales Office Filled With Only Beautiful Women!?

“H-Hirabayashi-kun, what’s wrong? W-Why are you staring at me like that?”

As I blankly gazed at her face, she looked a little flustered. Her model-like features wavered slightly with uncertainty.

“Eh…? Ah, uh, sorry. Thank you for your concern. I know full well that someone like me wouldn’t even register as a romantic option for you. But that aside, I really do think you’re a wonderful woman.”

“Eh…? Ah… um… thanks. H-Hirabayashi-kun, are you the type to suck up to your boss?”

“What? Suck up…? Ah, no! Not at all!”

That was nothing but the honest truth.

Whether someone was my superior or not, if I thought they had good qualities, I tried my best to say so. But I absolutely hated flattering people just for the sake of it.

Maybe because I was being too serious, but she suddenly put a hand to her mouth and let out a chuckle.

The unexpected smile on her perfectly sculpted face made my heart skip a beat for a moment.

“Doesn’t seem like you’re lying. Hirabayashi-kun, you’re quite interesting. I can tell you’re serious and sincere.”

“Uh… th-thank you.”

“Well, this office is full of women, so if a careless man were assigned here, it would be a problem. I specifically asked HR to send someone trustworthy and responsible. And that’s how they chose you.”

“S-Seriously…?”

So that was the reason I was picked?

Well, I did consider myself an earnest and honest person.

Still, it was surprising to hear that HR actually evaluated me that way. If it was true, then I guess it was something to be happy about.

—Wait, hold on.

Did that mean… they either thought I had no interest in women or that I wasn’t someone women would be interested in?

“So… basically, they saw me as completely harmless? Haha…”

“Who knows? Heh. But at the very least, you don’t seem like the type to carelessly hit on women.”

“Oh, that’s absolutely correct.”

“To me, both Hono-chan and Ruka-chan are important subordinates. And now, as of yesterday, so are you, Hirabayashi-kun. That’s why I don’t want anything weird happening with you either.”

“Ah, thank you, Director! Of course, I understand!”

I was considered an important subordinate too…?

She really said something amazing. She truly was a wonderful boss.

But this also confirmed one thing—she absolutely didn’t see me as a man.

Well, considering someone as beautiful and capable as her, that was only natural.

No, no, not just the boss, but I’d never had a girlfriend, so it was probably hard for most women to see me as a man. Hmm, I did feel a little disappointed about that.

Ah, but wait. I promised myself that I would try my best regardless of whether my colleagues were men or women. If I kept living seriously every day, eventually I too…

There was still a chance that some woman, somewhere, who was into someone like me, could like me… it was not completely impossible… I hoped.

As I was thinking about such things, Honoka and Aido-san came back from the bathroom. Honoka sat down and called out to me.

“Hirarin~ You okay?’

──Huh?

Looking at Honoka’s face, it was bright red and her eyes were unfocused. She’d been drinking a lot, so I could understand why, but I didn’t think she was that drunk just a moment ago.

Sometimes the alcohol hit harder after standing up, but was that what happened?

“Yeah. I’m good.”

“Oh, really? Then let’s drink!”

Honoka held up her wine glass and shoved it toward me. I reluctantly picked up my beer glass.

“Cheers!”

“Oh, cheers!”

When the glasses clinked, Honoka, surprisingly, chugged her wine in one go.

Was she okay?

She was not going to pass out, right?

Her chestnut-colored, loose, fluffy hair was slightly messy, giving her a soft, airy look.

“Ah, then, Hirabayashi-san… may I have a toast too?”

Aido-san also held out her whiskey glass from the side. This time, I extended my beer glass toward her.

Aido-san’s face was red too, but her chestnut ponytail was neat as always, and her face looked composed as well.

As expected of serious Aido-san.

“Yes, cheers.”

“Yeah, cheers.”

The glasses clinked with a light sound. It was a cute and polite toast, just like Aido-san.

“Hey, Hirarin, are you drinking?”

Honoka, with her bright red face, came over and started to tease me.

Oh no. She was already pretty drunk…

“Ah, yeah, I’m drinking. But Honoka, aren’t you drinking too much? Are you okay?”

“I’m strong when it comes to alcohol, so I’m fine~”

Really?

I was a little worried.

“Um… Honoka-senpai?”

“Hmm? What is it, Ruka-tan?”

“Honoka-senpai, you call Hirabayashi-san ‘Hirarin’, right? Why is that?”

“What are you talking about, Ruka-tan? If you shorten Hirabayashi Rinta, it becomes Hirarin~”

“Ah, I know that, but… that’s not what I meant. And Hirabayashi-san also calls you ‘Honoka’…”

Yeah, that was true. If the way someone was called suddenly changed, it was normal to wonder why. At the office, we’d always been careful to call each other by our last names, but here at the drinking party, both Honoka and I had let our guard down.

“Mmhhh…”

Aido-san wasn’t so much questioning it as much as she was making a frustrated face. There were wrinkles between her long, beautiful lashes and her soft-looking eyebrows.

──Why was that?

“Ah, you see, Aido-san…”

I told her about how Hikawa-san had said that Honoka and I were a perfect pair. Then, here was the explanation I gave, although it was slightly different from the truth.

“──Also, we both started working for the company at the same time, so we decided to call each other in a friendly way, without any formalities, to make it more comfortable.”

“Hmm…”

For some reason, Aido-san turned to Honoka beside her and gave her a sideways glare. Honoka made a small, uncomfortable sound and leaned back a little, trying to pull away.

“It’s just… Honoka-senpai is the only one who’s friendly with Hirabayashi-san. Wouldn’t it be better if we were all friendly like that? Right, Director Reika?”

──Huh?

What?

She wanted me to be friendly with everyone?

Why?

When Aido-san suddenly turned to face Director Jinguji and said that, I was taken aback.