Kitsumi Kiyo just told me that things will take longer than planned.
So I asked, "What? Are they allowed to do that? Didn't you say that they couldn't say no?"
"Yes, they can't say no, but they can delay things. It serves no purpose but to be petty."
"Then why would they spend so much effort on this? Is it really just them being petty, or are they trying to drive us out by stalling?"
"No, it's just being petty. The town hall leader is the head of the local rich family. They own the major businesses in the area which makes them have a god complex.
Having a new business would help their community but it would also be competition. Not really for their business but for their control over the population."
"How much do they own?"
"A lot, the arena, the highway, the high school, both of the junior high schools, the elementary school, the sports park, the memorial park, multiple restaurants, multiple community centers, the hospital, the driving school, the shopping mall, the supermarket, the bus station, the convenience stores, even the town hall has their name on it.
Anyway you get it, they have their hands in just about everything here."
"Why would someone so rich want to be the town hall leader?"
"Control? Or the fact that they could just eminent domain anyone or anything for their own benefit. They could be pseudo kings in this little town."
"Then what should we do? Try to appease these tyrants? Or push even harder?"
"Well, like I said before. They had no intention of allowing anyone to start a new business that would be so profitable in their little kingdom. Especially when it would employ almost a hundred people. That would shake their foundation."
"How? I wasn't even planning to be here long enough to get to know anyone. If anything they are doing the opposite by making me stay here longer."
"No one ever said they were smart. They are just trying to delay the inevitable."
"Then how long is this going to take, and how long do I have to stay here?"
"That's the bad news. We both have to stay here until the entire process is complete."
"Until it's complete? Seriously? How long will that take?"
"Honestly. I don't know. They can delay a few weeks but it would be hard for them to keep brushing us off. They will still have to have a "reasonable" time frame or the government could step in.
So, a week for the inspector? The good news is that the factory is built , otherwise we could be waiting for a few years. Since it is built and has the permits, it should only be a month or two.
But that is if they don't try anything underhanded, since the construction company is in-laws with the main family. They shouldn't try anything since it could put their company certifications in jeopardy."
"Great so I'm stuck here for a few months… I'm already bored. I'm going to need to find something to do."
It was Monday afternoon and I was laying on my bed in the inn, just staring at the ceiling.
I was struggling to think of what to do. I could just try and relax, but I was already feeling itchy. The only thing that came to mind was that old inn covered in greenery.
I could buy that then fix it up while staying here. Once I'm done with it I could open it back up as an inn.
Yeah, that seems like a good productive project.
I started trying to find something about the property. But that proved challenging. When Foolgling the town only three sites popped up. One for a rock formation in the water. The second for the inn. The third for a news article about the tsunami that hit.
That was it. Using Foolgle maps got me much more information, but that didn't help me in my search for the property. Especially since it didn't exist on maps. The satellite image showed just trees and the street view was just an old trail that didn't see much foot traffic.
I knew that I would have to rely more on word of mouth for this since I couldn't risk the town hall people finding out. Hopefully the town didn't own it.
It was already late, I would have to wait until tomorrow.
…
The next day. Tuesday, December 9, 2025.
I got up later since I would have to wait until other people were up and I could talk to them.
After breakfast, I leisurely started walking to the old inn location. Because I figured that if anyone knew who owned it or what happened, it would be the cafe owner who was nearby.
I entered the cafe well before the lunch rush, ordered a slice of cake and started to make conversation with the owner.
I asked, "Excuse me, are you the owner?"
A warm looking middle aged lady responded, "Yes, I am. How can I help you?"
"Oh, I just wanted to ask how it was to start a business here? I ask because I am trying to start my own but I'm getting a lot of push back from the council. I just wanted to know if that was normal."
"Oh… Yes, it is. It's unfortunate but that's just the way things are here."
"I see. That's too bad. Anyway, I also wanted to ask about the building over there in the woods. I thought it was a shrine but when I went to look it turned out to be an old inn. Do you know what happened or who owns it?"
"Oh, that old place? Yeah, I know what happened. It happened when I was a kid but I remember. It's a long story surrounding the main family that resides here, the Donyoku family, and the other rich family that used to live here, the Shinju family. It is a tale of greed and blood shed."