Volume 1 - CH 10

The holiday was over, and it was time to get back to work. 

My morning was just like any other day. I walked into the office and saw all my colleagues busy with their tasks. 

—Good morning, Masato-senpai.

—Good morning.

As soon as I reached my desk, I saw Inami who greets me with her usual smile. She was so full of energy just like always. It seems that yesterday’s day off was good for her to recharge her energy.

The next thing she did was to spread out notebook and study materials on the desk. It’s good to see that she takes her work very seriously, but…

—Hmm, Inami, why are you in my seat?

—I want Masato-senpai to see how hard your Kouhai is trying to improve her work.

—Are you not ashamed at all?

—Why don’t you think I’m a very determined girl?

—I don’t think that at all.

That’s not how it works, you idiot, the rest of the people are the ones who have to praise you and realize it, just because you say it won’t make it come true.

—Get up from my seat.

—Tch… You could have at least given me a compliment. — Inami replied as she got up from the chair and picked up her things.

She then sat back in her seat, and put all her study materials back on her desk.

—Don’t bother me, I’m busy. — She said as she looked at some documents.

—Oh, so you’ve been preparing for your meeting with the company today.

—Yes. Today is my debut! — She expressed with great excitement as she jabbed in the air.

Hey dummy, be careful you’ll hit me by accident.

And in case you’re wondering, no, Inami won’t be making her debut as a professional boxer today. But as an official member of the sales team in our company. So, she will be meeting with a group of businessmen today with the aim of getting them to recruit our services. 

Until now, Inami has only been accompanying me to business meetings and observing how processes are usually dealt with in those environments, all with the aim of her learning how to do this kind of work. But lately she has decided that it was time for her to take the next step.

—Masato-senpai, I would like you to accompany me today. — She said as she bowed in front of me. 

—Sure, I’ll be there to cover for you if anything goes wrong, so take it easy.

—Yes! I will give my best today!

As she continued to express herself with great momentum, she was making dangerous moves throwing fists in the air with great aggression… I’m starting to worry about how things might go today at the meeting… 

I feel like telling her to let me do the business today, but I’m sure she won’t like that one bit. 

On the other hand, I’m glad she’s so motivated. Unlike me when I went through the exact same trial, when I was left to do my first business meeting on my own, I was pretty depressed and wanted to give up.

I guess that’s the difference between people who have motivation and those who don’t. 

—Good morning to you both.

—Aah, Goo… Good morning, Senpai.

—Fufufu, why are you so nervous, Kazama-kun?

—Um… Nothing special.

—Hmm… I see.

My beautiful Onee-san is bothering me in the morning, there’s no greater happiness than this. 

I noticed her right hand, and it seems she hadn’t bought her morning Starbuck’s today, instead of that, she had a cup of coffee from a convenience store. 

It seems that the long conversation we had last night has made changes in terms of her thinking. I won’t deny that I’m a little glad about that.

—Suzumori-senpai, thank you for the meal yesterday, it was a pleasure.

—No, it’s my pleasure. Thank you very much for not only fixing my laptop, but also for listening to my complaints.

—I’m happy to listen to your complaints, so if you need me, you can always come to me.

—Hahaha. I think I’ve found a new way to relieve my stress.

I guess she didn’t mean that as a joke, as her laugh seemed sincere. So… Using me for stress relief. That sounds a bit erotic.

Hearing this made Inami very curious though, and she looked at us expectantly.

—Food? Fixing?

—Ah yes, I went out with Suzumori-senpai yesterday because she needed help repairing her laptop.

—…Huh? — Expressed Inami as she approached me with great speed — And why didn’t you invite me?

—Well… I had no idea you had any knowledge about repairing computers.

—I know absolutely nothing! But I could give you moral support!

That’s a damn unnecessary thing to do, Inami.

As soon as Inami gave up on me, she switched her focus to Suzumori-senpai, who was smiling wryly.

—Well, good! Where did the two of you go out to eat? Was it a fancy wine bar or some fancy restaurant?

—Huh?

Smiling bitterly, Suzumori-senpai blushes.

—…Um. My home.

Senpai, I support the idea of being honest, and both you and I know we haven’t done anything wrong. But…I think the best option here was to tell a lie regarding where our dinner was.

—…I understand. Now it all makes sense about the whole “finding a new way to relieve stress” thing. You two… You had sex.

—Of course not, you idiot!

—Kazama-kun and I didn’t do that!!!

This morning is more chaotic than usual.

—Are you sure nothing happened between you?

—I told you, we didn’t do anything.

Inami’s gaze still denoted distrust regarding my answer as she slurped her soba.

We were both at a food establishment eating lunch before our business meeting. The place was a Soba restaurant, a rather light meal to fuel our stomachs before a very important moment for my Kouhai. 

—I practiced a lot yesterday to make today’s meeting a success.

—It was your day off, at least you could have taken it to rest.

—Then why didn’t you ask me out?!

—I’ve already told you the reason! Ah, MY TEMPURA! DON’T TAKE IT AWAY! 

Inami extended her chopsticks towards my plate of tempura and took it away with great agility. 

Now that she has a mouthful of food, I don’t know if her cheeks are puffy from sulking or from how gluttonous she is. As soon as I turned to look at my tempura dish, I saw that there was only one left.

The amount of tempura they gave me compared to the price doesn’t match. I think this place is ripping me off… 

I had no choice but to resign myself and continue eating my food in silence.

A few minutes later the lady serving the place brings us a bowl full of Sobayu, which Inami had ordered in advance as soon as we took our seats.

She looked quite excited to see that I had brought her her desired drink as she motioned to the lady where she wanted her to put it repeatedly.

By the way, Sobayu, as the name suggests, is the cooking water used to boil soba noodles. 

You can drink it just like a cup of hot water, or mix it with soup and have it as a soup substitute. 

The drink is popular in the Kanto region, but its fame in the Kansai region is minimal. The only people who know about it are salarymen like me and the elderly who are over 60 years old.

Therefore, I’m surprised that a girl like Inami would know such a drink.

—Wow, Inami, I had no idea you liked Sobayu.

—I wouldn’t say I like it, I love it.

As soon as Inami finished the rest of the soba, the next thing she did was to dump the bowl of Sobayu in her plate, and without hesitation, she started gulping the white liquid down her throat.

—Fu~….. The tender, savory taste of Sobayu soothes my rough heart. I am so happy…

—You’re exaggerating.

—It is not an exaggeration. It’s the best thing in the world.

That’s not what I meant when I said you were exaggerating… 

—I guess I’ll just forget about it… — Inami muttered to herself. 

And proceeded to take another sip of her bowl until it was clean.

—Very good! To prove that my day off wasn’t in vain, I’ll make sure today’s meeting is a success! 

—I’m glad to hear that.

—Thank you — replied Inami as she poured Sobayu into my bowl — Go ahead, Senpai. Drink it, enjoy this miracle drink, and how we worked hard to get that contract. That way, we can toast our success with alcohol tonight.

—Does that mean we’re in this together?

—Of course, it’s always been that way, Masato-senpai.

I see my Kouhai is getting ahead of herself. That terrifies me. But on the other hand, I’m quite happy to see her so full of spirit and determined.

I really had put all my confidence in her.