At that moment, Ruby looked like nothing more than an ordinary, beautiful blonde woman.
I found myself wondering which face, if any, was actually the real her.
"Can you at least tell me your real name?" I asked. "I won’t tell anyone."
"Hmm... Really?" Ruby tilted her head, then gave me a small smile. "Alright. If you promise to keep it to yourself, I suppose I can trust you."
"Yeah. I promise."
Ruby paused for a moment, twirling a strand of blonde hair around her finger as though she’d finally been cornered.
"...Kambini Narai."
"What? That’s... unexpected." I frowned. "You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?"
"Ah, no, wait. Was it Marie Holstein?" She blinked thoughtfully. "Hmm..."
"..."
"Ah! Right, I remember now." Her eyes lit up. "Monica~ Monica Ranieri."
"You’re messing with me, aren’t you?"
Ruby stared back at me with wide, innocent eyes, as though she’d only just realized I’d seen through her little game.
She really had no shame. She could twist anything around if it amused her.
I considered pushing her again for her real name, but there was no point. Even if she gave me another answer, I had no way of knowing whether it would be true.
So I moved on.
"Country and region of birth, unknown. Year of birth, also unknown..."
"Hm-hm, hm-hmm~"
Ruby hummed cheerfully while inspecting her nails, making it abundantly clear that she had no intention of answering.
"Alright, next question..." I paused, then sighed. "Actually, forget it. Let’s start with something you actually want to tell me about yourself."
"My measurements? My sensitive spots? Or whether I’m a virgin?" Ruby asked, smiling sweetly. "Which one are you most curious about, Manager?"
"...Ruby."
"What?" She wrapped another strand of hair around her finger. "Did you really think you could just sit there and uncover everything about me one question at a time?"
Her smile widened.
"Sorry, Manager, but I’m not nearly that boring of a woman~"
Ruby twisted the lock of hair around her finger and gave me a knowing smirk.
So that’s how she wanted to play it.
Then perhaps I needed to ask her a different question.
"Manager," Ruby suddenly said, leaning forward with a teasing smile, "were you really that curious about my body that you’ve been sitting there agonizing over it with such a serious expression?"
She tapped a finger against her cheek as though genuinely considering it.
"Your constant teasing. And the way you keep looking for ways to amuse yourself with me."
Ruby’s expression remained the same.
I continued.
"Does that have something to do with why you refuse to tell me anything about your past?"
The smile on Ruby’s face remained for another moment.
Then it disappeared.
She fell silent.
"If it does," I said quietly, "then at least I deserve to know something. I’m the one involved here, aren’t I?"
Ruby looked at me for a long moment before her smile slowly returned, though there was something different about it now.
"If I can give you a little spoiler, Manager..." Her voice had lost its usual playfulness. "You really don’t need to work this hard to find out."
She lowered her gaze.
"Because there’s nothing entertaining about that story."
Her tone had suddenly become uncharacteristically serious.
But I’d finally gotten a reaction from her.
I couldn’t let it go now.
"I’m not asking because I think your past will be entertaining," I said. "I’m saying that I’m in the same boat as all of you now. We’re comrades, aren’t we?"
"Ahaha~"
Ruby suddenly laughed.
"Manager, did you really just call us ’comrades’?"
Her eyes narrowed playfully.
"Do you honestly believe that’s what we are?"
I fell silent and looked away.
Because, of course, I’d lied.
"Tell me, Manager."
Ruby rose from her chair.
Before I could react, she moved across the desk with an almost feline grace, then caught me by the collar and pulled me toward her.
"Those trembling eyes looking at me..." Her voice dropped into a soft murmur. "And that cute little lie you just told me about being comrades..."
She tugged me closer.
"Are these the same eyes that are lying to me?"
"Mmph...?!"
In an instant, Ruby’s breath was against my lips.
Her face was so close that I could see every one of her long, delicate eyelashes through her wide-open eyes.
I was being forcibly kissed by Ruby.
"Chu... mm, smooch... mm~"
She seemed to be enjoying my reaction far too much.
Her lips moved against mine, teasingly alternating between my upper and lower lip as she nibbled and sucked at them. Then her tongue slipped past my lips, invading my mouth before I could react.
"..."
Ruby watched me through half-lidded eyes, seemingly fascinated by every little reaction.
She kissed me exactly as she pleased.
There was no hesitation, no concern for whether I wanted it.
She was simply doing whatever she wanted, treating the kiss like another game for her own amusement.
And yet, faced with that gaze, I couldn’t move.
I was frozen in place, like a mouse caught in the stare of a snake.
Ruby drew back only slightly, breathing softly against my lips.
Then she leaned in again, stealing another deep kiss before finally pulling away.
"Haah..."
Our lips slowly separated.
At the very end, Ruby lightly caught my lower lip between her teeth and tugged on it, leaving a small sting behind as though deliberately leaving her mark.
Then she finally pulled away, a faint smile lingering in her eyes.
...
Was it finally over?
"You know, Manager..." Ruby whispered.
Before I could properly catch my breath, she wrapped her arms around me again.
She pulled me close and brought her lips near my ear.
"Do you still want to know about me?"
Her voice was soft, almost playful again.
"If you really want to know..."
She paused, her breath brushing against my ear.
"Then you’ll have to cross the line first, Manager."
Her arms tightened around me.
"That cute little line you’ve drawn between us..."