Actually, There’s Someone at Your Workplace Who Likes You ~ I’m Being Transferred to a Sales Office Filled With Only Beautiful Women!? - Chapter 30: Ruka Calls Aihara-san a Beautiful Woman, While Honoka Responds with "Is She?"

“Kanpai!”

“Yes, cheers!”

Honoka and Ruka entered a nearby izakaya close to the station and clinked their glasses together. As usual, Honoka took a big gulp of the wine she had ordered right away.

Ruka, sipping on her highball, stared at Honoka with a surprised expression.

“Honoka-senpai, are you sure you’re okay drinking at that pace right from the start?”

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

“Well, that’s true.”

Ruka narrowed her eyes and gave a small, amused smile before continuing.

“By the way, Rinta-senpa’s really trusted by the head of the department, Hiramatsu-san, huh?”

“Yeah, it seems so. He even called them the ‘Hira-Hira’ duo. Heh-heh.”

Honoka recalled the joke Hiramatsu-san had made with a serious face, and she chuckled.

“Still, that Aihara-san was really a beautiful woman, wasn’t she?”

Ruka seemed genuinely impressed and once again complimented Aihara’s appearance. Honoka, hearing this, furrowed her brows.

“Is she? I think you’re way more beautiful, Ruka-tan!”

“Thank you… So, what you want me to say is that you, Honoka-senpai, are even more beautiful, right?”

“Exactly. You get it, Ruka-tan. So that means, we’re definitely more beautiful than that woman.”

Honoka thrust her thumb up toward Ruka’s face, as if to seal her point. For some reason, Aihara-san had become “that woman” in their conversation.

“Okay, okay, I got it. So that’s settled then.”

“Mm.”

Honoka seemed satisfied, and she picked up the side dish that had been served, quickly putting it in her mouth.

Ruka, also munching on a snack, appeared to be lost in thought for a moment before suddenly speaking again.

“By the way, Aihara-san is tall and has a great figure. She’s about the same height as the director, so she must be around 165 cm.”

Ruka must have really been thinking about Aihara a lot, as she brought up the topic again.

“Hmm… Ah, I may be 155 cm tall, though.”

“That’s a lie. I know you’re actually 149 cm, Honoka-senpai.”

“Ah… that’s right. You figured it out, Ruka-tan.”

“Why are you making such a subtle boast? Even if you were 155 cm, you’d still be far from 165 cm…”

“Hmph… I-I’m not boasting at all!”

“Why are you even comparing heights? Is it because Rinta-senpai seems to be getting along with Aihara-san?”

Ruka grinned mischievously.

“W-w-w-what are you saying, Ruka-tan!? It has absolutely nothing to do with Hirarin!”

Seeing how flustered Honoka was, Ruka couldn’t help but chuckle. She then held up her index finger in front of Honoka.

“Alright, here’s a question for you. How many times did Honoka-senpai say ‘na’ just now?”

“Huh…?”

“I’m just joking, but seriously, you’re stumbling over your words, Honoka-senpai.”

“It’s because you said such strange things, Ruka-tan!”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

Ruka apologized surprisingly sincerely.

Perhaps she felt she had teased Honoka too much, or maybe she realized that talking about Rinta too much could backfire on her.

In any case, Ruka apologized and changed the subject.

They started talking about the latest trendy drama.

From there, the conversation shifted to topics like food and fashion, typical of a girls’ night out, and their drinks kept flowing.

After chatting for a while, the alcohol seemed to take effect. Both of their faces were flushed, and their speech was starting to slur slightly.

Honoka, who always showed clear signs when she was drunk, was noticeably tipsy, but surprisingly, Ruka, usually so composed, seemed to be getting drunk too, for some reason.

Amidst this, Ruka suddenly brought up Rinta’s topic out of nowhere.

“By the way, Honoka-senpai…”

“What is it?”

“You know, we don’t really know anything about Rinta-senpai before he transferred here, or even Aihara-san’s situation. We never talked about it.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“I wonder if Rinta-senpai has a girlfriend?”

“Hmm…? I don’t think so.”

Honoka paused, her chopsticks halting mid-air as she answered with a confident look.

“How do you know that?”

“Ah, well… he’s not that good-looking, so…”

At that answer, Ruka puffed her cheeks out slightly and made a sulky face.

Normally, Ruka would never let her cool expression slip, but perhaps the alcohol was affecting her, or maybe it was related to her saying she wanted to drink today…

“Honoka-senpai, are you still saying that? It’s been a few days since Rinta-senpai arrived here, and we’ve gotten to know what kind of person he is… Even so, are you still so sure that he doesn’t have a girlfriend?”

“U-um…”

Honoka had no response.

Deep down, Honoka also knew the truth. She had said that Rinta didn’t have a girlfriend, but she had no real confidence in that assumption.

“What’s the matter, Ruka-tan? Are you interested in whether Hirarin has a girlfriend or not?”

“Eh… Well, that’s… It’s because he’s a senior from the same office, so it’s better to know these things. Don’t you care, Honoka-senpai?”

“Ah… me? I-I’m not interested!”

“Really…? I see.”

“Y-yeah, of course not!”

Ruka, with a flushed face from the alcohol, stared at Honoka with a serious expression.

Honoka, caught by her gaze, became flustered and nervously reached for the agedashi tofu.

“This agedashi tofu looks so good~!”

After putting a piece in her mouth, she turned to Ruka and said:

“If you’re that curious, why don’t you just ask Hirarin directly?”

“Well… It would take some courage to ask that, and I might not be able to do it right away… But I’ll try to find the right opportunity and ask him.”

“Y-yeah. I think that’s a good idea.”

Honoka’s gaze wavered, swaying left and right as she looked at Ruka.

“Ah, Honoka-senpai.”

“W-what?”

“Even if I get the chance to ask Rinta-senpai about whether he has a girlfriend, I won’t tell you, Honoka-senpai.”

“Eh—!? W-why not!?”

Honoka opened her mouth in surprise, letting out a loud exclamation.