Infinite Cashback System

Chapter 256: 256 | My Staff Is An Eccentric But Well-Oiled Machine [PS BONUS]

Chloe stretched her arms above her head, the movement causing her bikini top to shift in ways that Jordan’s peripheral vision catalogued automatically. The mineral water had turned her skin slightly pink, a flush that spread from her collarbones down to wherever the water obscured his view.

"We should probably get out before we prune," she said. "I’ve got content to edit tonight and Kumiko has class at eight tomorrow."

Kumiko groaned from her position on the stone ledge. "Don’t remind me. Art history. Three hours of Professor Tanaka pointing at slides and asking us to identify artistic movements I will never use in real life."

"You’re a Fine Arts major."

"Exactly. I make art. I don’t need to know that some guy in 1847 decided brushstrokes should go sideways instead of up and down." Kumiko sank deeper into the water until only her eyes and the top of her head remained visible. Bubbles rose from her mouth as she continued mumbling complaints beneath the surface.

Jordan reached over and pulled her up by the shoulder before she accidentally drowned herself in mineral-rich spite.

"Pwaah!" Kumiko surfaced with water streaming down her face. "I was expressing my discontent."

"You were submerging your respiratory system."

"Same thing."

Chloe had already risen from the pool, water cascading down her body in sheets that caught the lantern light. Jordan watched the droplets trace paths across her skin, following the curve of her spine toward the small of her back where her bikini bottoms sat against her hips. She wrung out her hair with both hands, the motion lifting her arms and pulling her torso into a silhouette that belonged in a photograph rather than real life.

"Staring," she said without turning around.

"Appreciating."

"Same thing." She grabbed a towel from the wooden rack and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Get out of the water. Both of you. I want mochi before we leave and I refuse to eat it while pruned."

Kumiko scrambled up the stone steps with significantly less grace than Chloe had managed, her ruffled swimsuit creating wet slapping sounds against her thighs. Jordan followed at a more measured pace, accepting a towel from Yumi who had materialized beside the rack with the supernatural stealth all the staff seemed to possess.

"Thank you, Yumi."

"Y-you’re welcome, Master Jordan." Her voice barely exceeded a whisper. "The changing rooms have been prepared with fresh yukata and... and warm tea if you desire it."

"That sounds great."

Yumi’s entire face turned red. She bowed deeply enough that her hair touched the wooden decking, then retreated toward her station at approximately twice normal walking speed.

The three of them changed back into their street clothes in the same alcoves they’d used earlier. Jordan emerged first, finding Ayaka waiting in the corridor with an expression that suggested she’d been there for exactly as long as necessary and not a second more.

"Did Master Jordan enjoy the facilities?"

"They were everything you promised. The water quality is exceptional."

"The mineral springs have been the pride of this establishment for fifteen years." Ayaka’s smile carried warmth that seemed genuine beneath its professional polish. "Your guests appeared to enjoy themselves as well. The one with the notebook documented approximately three hundred photographs of the garden alone."

Jordan glanced toward Kumiko’s changing alcove, where he could hear her wrestling with what sounded like a zipper malfunction. "That tracks."

"I’ve taken the liberty of preparing care packages for each of your guests. Samples of our house-blend tea, organic bath salts from the mineral springs, and a selection of Kaori-san’s wagashi. The packages will be waiting at reception."

"You didn’t have to do that."

"Master Jordan." Ayaka tilted her head slightly, her elaborate hair ornaments catching the light. "You are the owner of this establishment. Everything we do here reflects upon you. Ensuring your guests leave with positive impressions is not generosity. It is business sense."

There it was again. The acknowledgment of ownership that Jordan kept deflecting. Ayaka delivered it matter-of-factly, as though his resistance to accepting the inheritance was a temporary condition she expected him to outgrow.

Chloe emerged from her alcove looking precisely as put-together as she had when they’d arrived, her white sweater and high-waisted jeans showing no evidence of the humidity-induced chaos happening in Kumiko’s section. Her makeup had been refreshed, her hair restyled, and her expression carried the satisfied contentment of someone whose skin had just absorbed several thousand dollars worth of mineral treatments for free.

"The changing rooms have mirrors," she observed. "Good ones. The lighting in there is better than most professional studios."

Ayaka inclined her head. "Rina-san insisted on proper illumination. She believes guests who feel confident in their appearance become repeat customers at higher rates."

"She’s right."

A crash from Kumiko’s alcove drew everyone’s attention. It was followed by a muffled apology, the sound of something being hastily righted, and then Kumiko’s voice calling out, "I’m fine! Nothing is broken! The stool was already wobbly!"

Tomoe appeared from around a corner Jordan hadn’t realized existed. "I’ll check on that. Been meaning to fix that stool anyway." She bounded toward Kumiko’s alcove with the energy of someone who genuinely enjoyed emergency furniture repairs.

Jordan, Chloe, and Ayaka waited in polite silence until Kumiko emerged five minutes later, her cardigan slightly askew and her twin tails listing to different angles than they’d started the evening at. She carried her pink notebook clutched to her chest like a shield.

"The stool was definitely already wobbly," she announced to no one in particular. "Tomoe-san agreed that it was a preexisting structural issue."

"I did!" Tomoe’s voice echoed from inside the alcove. "This thing’s been loose for weeks! Good thing Kumiko-san found it before someone actually got hurt!"

Kumiko beamed with the satisfaction of someone whose clumsiness had been officially reclassified as a public service.

The group made their way back through the corridors toward the main lobby, passing the meditation garden and the small library Jordan had barely glanced at during the initial tour. The building had grown quieter as evening deepened, the day’s clientele having departed and the evening appointments not yet arrived. Their footsteps on the polished wood floors created soft echoes that blended with the distant sound of water features and the occasional call of night birds in the garden.

Kaori intercepted them near the kitchen entrance, pressing additional containers of wagashi into Kumiko’s arms despite Kumiko’s protests that she already had enough. The protests were notably weak, lasting approximately four seconds before Kumiko started asking about storage temperature recommendations.

At reception, Ayaka presented each of them with the promised care packages, elegantly wrapped in cloth bags bearing the establishment’s logo. Rina appeared briefly to hand Jordan a tablet displaying next month’s projected revenue, which he accepted and promised to review later. Tomoe waved enthusiastically from down the hall where she was apparently replacing something in the ceiling. Yumi remained hidden somewhere in the building’s depths, her courage for the evening apparently exhausted.

"Thank you for visiting Hada no Yu." Ayaka bowed formally at the entrance. "We look forward to serving you again soon."

"I’ll be back," Jordan said. "We all will."

Kumiko nodded vigorously. "Mochi. Hot springs. Yumi-chan’s shy face when she delivers tea. This place is perfect."