Part 4
After finding my land was so massive, I began exploring it in my free time. This turned out to be only once a week, usually on a Tuesday afternoon or Tuesday morning. I was found placing orders and paying bills, ready for the coming week.
My favorite place to explore was the hot springs. I eventually made a track up to them once I had found the best route, which involved passing by the playful tube kittens. My next goal was to find out what ones of the hot springs could be used for bathing and what could be used for cooking. The cooking one was the easiest. I practically burnt my hand off when I tripped one day. After that, I decided to just test by touch as any other way took too long.
I established the best bathing spot and often travelled up there and back at the end of a particularly busy day. One time it was raining, so I couldn't go as there was no shelter, so a plan started to form in my mind about building a bathhouse up there.
As Souji got older and frailer, he would complain about not being able to go to the hot springs. " This is it," I thought. "Time to build a place for him up there!"
So, I started cutting down trees and preparing the area ready for a bathhouse home.
One of my regular customers was a reputable builder, so I asked him to help me build the place. Every Tuesday for the better part of a year was spent building that home. I made sure for storage, rooms to sleep and change should guests come. Though I left it communal as I didn't think many people would come, and I was sure if a lady friend visited Souji, he wasn't going to waste time doing things that didn't concern him. He just had a system that if Souji didn't want to be disturbed, he used it, and he would stay away. With this bathhouse home built, Souji had a permanent lady friend stay with him until she died. Souji didn't last much longer as the love of his life had passed. He buried Souji and his lady in a lovely spot overlooking the hot springs and house. After Souji died, I again had itchy feet.
I had become good friends with Byakuya, the accountant, and a cook. The cook I trained up to work for me as my business had flourished enough to employ one part-time. One time when I was having Sake with them, I mentioned my want to travel. The pair straight away offered to cover for me. The chef just to cook and look after the place, and the accountant to do the orders and pays bills. They promised to me if I trusted them that, they would even make profits. I wouldn't believe it! I decided to take a risk. The accountant moved to the hot spring bathhouse as payment for his services and the cook at the restaurant home.
My business did well under their care, so we decided to look into building a high-class inn with all the amenities that people love. Including proper rooms for the staff so they could stay on site and not travel. It was very future planned, and thus, the inn as we know it today was started. However, when I looked at the capital needed to do this, it simply was not possible. An Ougon-douji-sama visited the Tea house and was incredibly impressed. She agreed to take Tenjin-ya to the next level, and so our business together started. It was many years before I was handed back to the Inn to care for myself. I learned a lot from her.
Once Tenjin-ya became prosperous, she decided to head to the southern realm and start a new Inn there. I went with her and found Ginji, who I had recruited, as he was not doing so well with his brother, but he had to return there when the 100-year festival began to help the Umi-bouzu.
I travelled to the apparent realm on business and thought I would visit Shino as I was a bit bored. To my surprise, he was looking after two spider ayakashi. Shiro asked me to take them back home with me as the apparent realm was too hard on them. I agreed and had Shiro bring them to the Ogre gate portal. I watched as Shiro tore up his contract to them and told them to go live in the hidden realm. Suzuran cried that she didn't want to go, but Shiro promised to visit often. Suzuran worked as a room attendant first in Tenjin-ya, then quit to go to the capital to become the number one geisha in the capital so she could see Shino more.
On one of my stays at the new Tenjin-ya Inn, I saw this child ayakashi walking behind her mistress, who had come to visit me. She lost her footing and fell down, accidentally dropping an expensive plate her mistress was bringing me. The plate was meant to curry favour with me. Her mistress was so angry that she started beating the child to death. I couldn't bear her beating the poor child up, so I hurried over and stopped her. The child's name was O-Ryo. I treated her wounds and arranged to buy the girl from her mistress. I couldn't bear the thought of the girl returning to that environment. I could tell she was doing her best in her tiny, frail body. When she was better, I started her working as a room attendant.
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