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

After leaving the store, I stopped to wait for Ran-san and was talking face-to-face with Rin-san when, all of a sudden, I heard a short exclamation from the side.

“Ah… Ri, Rinta-senpai!”

I turned around—only to find Ruka standing there with a stunned expression.

Just like she had mentioned before, she wasn’t wearing her glasses in her private time. This allowed her beautifully shaped double-lidded eyes to be fully visible, and those gorgeous eyes were staring straight at me.

Her outfit was also much more casual than her work attire—a cute, colorful T-shirt paired with a floral flared mini skirt.

In short, today’s Ruka was radiating full-on beautiful-girl energy.

She had probably been walking around the merchandise area when she spotted me and stopped in her tracks.

Now, she was glancing back and forth between my face and Rin-san’s, her gaze darting between us repeatedly.

It was like she was a spectator watching a tennis rally.

“Hirabayashi-san… who is this?”

Seeing Ruka’s suspicious behavior, Rin-san looked at me curiously and asked.

“Oh, she’s a junior colleague at my company, Aido Ruka-san.”

“Ah, I see.”

After that, Rin-san greeted Ruka with a polite “Nice to meet you.”

Ruka, looking pale, quickly bowed her head.

“O-oh, I-I’m so sorry for intruding!”

…Why was Ruka apologizing?

What did she mean by “intruding”?

And why was she so obviously flustered?

Just as I was wondering about this, Ruka suddenly stiffened and made an awkward U-turn.

Then, as if fleeing the scene, she started walking away in a strangely rigid manner… when suddenly—

A voice called out from behind her.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Hirabayashi-san.”

It was Ran-san.

The moment Ruka heard her voice, her movements came to an abrupt halt.

Then, ever so slowly, she turned her upper body around, hesitantly looking back.

It was as if she was forcing herself to look at something terrifying, unable to resist her morbid curiosity.

When Ruka finally caught sight of Ran-san, her expression turned into one of pure shock.

She rubbed her eyes with both hands, as if trying to wipe away an illusion.

Then, once again, she shifted her gaze back and forth between Rin-san and Ran-san, rapidly scanning their faces.

—Ah, I see.

Since Rin-san and Ran-san had identical faces, she probably felt like she was seeing some kind of hallucination.

“Rinta-senpai… You have two girlfriends…?”

With a dazed, hollow expression—like her soul had been sucked out—Ruka muttered something completely incomprehensible.

“Two girlfriends? Me? No, Ruka, that’s not it.”

Hey, Ruka. That was a massive misunderstanding. Forget two—I’d never even had one girlfriend.

“Huh…?”

Ruka blinked at me in utter confusion.

After I explained the Hikawa sisters’ situation and the reason I was meeting them today, Ruka became extremely apologetic.

“I’m really sorry, Rinta-senpai. The moment I saw you, I completely assumed she was your girlfriend.”

“And then, another woman showed up, right?”

“Yes…”

“Haha. I can’t believe you thought I had two girlfriends.”

“Yes… I panicked, thinking I’d seen something I shouldn’t have.”

Ruka’s face turned bright red as she glanced up at me and the Hikawa sisters. She must have been extremely embarrassed about her misunderstanding.

Rin-san and Ran-san watched Ruka fidget with amused expressions, but after a moment, they started whispering to each other.

We were planning to go home right after leaving the Italian restaurant, but thanks to Ruka’s sudden appearance, we had missed the perfect timing to leave.

Still, just as we had discussed inside the restaurant, it seemed they were going to head home after all. Turning toward me, they spoke in perfect unison.

“Well then, Hirabayashi-san. We’ll take our leave now.”

“Oh, alright. Thank you so much for today.”

After watching Rin-san and Ran-san walk off together, Ruka suddenly murmured,

“But I’m glad it was just a misunderstanding. What a relief.”

—Huh?

Glad?

Relief?

About what?

—Oh… I got it.

If I really were the kind of guy who dated two women at the same time—especially right after moving here—Ruka would have been completely put off. She was relieved that wasn’t the case.

“Yeah, that makes sense. Don’t worry. There’s no way I’d have two girlfriends. Haha.”

“…So, does that mean you do have one girlfriend?”

“Eh…? No, I don’t have a girlfriend at all.”

“I see…”

Ruka sounded slightly deflated as she responded, then muttered something under her breath.

It sounded like “Joe Hoggett” or something… Who was that?

An American actor, maybe?

I had no idea. Oh well.

“Still, Rinta-senpai, that’s amazing. You’re finally getting close to meeting the president of Kagaya Manufacturing.”

“Well, nothing’s certain yet. I really hope I get to meet him. But rather than me being amazing, I was just lucky. Who would’ve thought Hikawa-san’s sister was the president’s secretary?”

“But that’s because you never gave up and kept reaching out and making connections.”

“Hmm… Hearing that from you makes me happy. But honestly, I was just lucky that Hikawa-san’s sister was so cooperative and kind.”

“No, I think she helped you because she recognized your character, Rinta-senpai.”

“Oh… You think so?”

All I had done was approach each task with honesty and dedication.

But now that I thought about it, Ran-san really did seem to appreciate that and trust me.

And for that, I was truly grateful.

“Rinta-senpai really is amazing.”

“Uh… I-I don’t know about that, but thanks.”

“I respect you, Rinta-senpai~♡”

Ah…

Her tone had a cute little bounce to it.