Chapter 8
The Prince Born from Bamboo
“Grandma? Grandma, where are you?”
Only Ruri’s voice echoed through the room as she stood there in shock.
Then she turned toward the direction where her grandmother had reached out her hand.
“Huh? The wall?”
Ah— the backyard!
Ruri hurriedly ran out the front door and around to the back of the house.
There was a small wooden gate there. She quietly pushed it open and stepped through.
Beyond it was a small but beautifully maintained bamboo grove.
Suddenly, Ruri’s body felt light and began to glow softly.
The light surrounding her blended into the air, and then— the bamboo in the center began to shine as well.
“…Kaguya-hime…?”
No way.
Ruri laughed a little and stepped closer to the bamboo.
“Wait— didn’t they split the bamboo open with a sickle in the story?
No, no, if I split it, that’d be terrible.
Ah, right, she floated out from inside, didn’t she?”
As she thought about that, the bamboo suddenly split cleanly in two—
and from inside, a baby flew out.
The baby floated gently through the air and stopped right in front of Ruri’s face.
Startled, she quickly reached out her hands and caught the floating infant.
“W–what!? What!?”
Before she could fully react, the split bamboo joined back together, returning to its original form.
“Eeeeehhhhhhhh?!”
Ruri let out a voiceless scream, hugging the baby in panic.
“I–I’ve never had a baby before!
I’ve never raised one either!
What do I do?!”
“Th—the police? Should I call the police?
Wait, what would I even say!?”
“What do I do… what do I do…”
For a while, Ruri just flailed around helplessly, but eventually, she calmed herself and looked down at the baby.
The baby was sleeping peacefully.
“T-this child… definitely isn’t human, right?
I mean, they were born from bamboo… or came out of it…”
“There’s that theory that Princess Kaguya was actually an alien, too.
If Grandma told me to protect this child… then does that mean Grandma was also an alien?”
“Then— Dad too?
A–and me…? Am I… half-alien?”
Ruri remembered how her body had glowed just moments ago.
Now, neither she nor the baby were shining anymore.
Not knowing what else to do, she told herself,
“For now, I just have to protect this child.”
And so, she started walking back toward the house.
The next day, at work—
“How are you feeling? Better now?”
Mitsuko asked.
“I’m sorry. Yes, I’m fine now.
So many things happened all of a sudden with my grandmother and everything…
I guess all the stress just caught up with me.”
Ruri apologized and sat down at her desk.
After finding the baby in the bamboo grove, a lot had happened—
and Ruri ended up taking the next day off.
“So, what are you going to do about that house you were worried about?”
Mitsuko paused the beadwork she was making and looked at Ruri.
“Well, it’s not too far to commute, so I think I’ll just live there and go to work from now on.”
“I see. That’s a lot to manage.
But considering rent prices, that might actually be a good idea.”
“I’m not sure yet, but… the place has been remodeled.
It’s small, but really nice and clean.
So I thought maybe it’d be fine if I lived there.”
“If it’s a clean detached house in the countryside,
then even an older place isn’t bad at all.”
Midori, who had been making a beaded bracelet beside them, stopped working and smiled.
“Sounds nice~”
