Ren knew there was no walking out of this.
If it's fortune, it won't be misfortune; if it's misfortune, you can't dodge it.
In that case—
go in.
With that thought, he strode straight into the bamboo grove.
The moment he stepped beneath the stalks,
the light dimmed.
No—
"Night already?" Ren looked up. The sunlit sky had become a moonlit dome, silver light spilling down in shards.
"The moon's up…"
"A bamboo grove…"
"Don't tell me?"
Moon above, bamboo all around—an inkling formed in his mind.
Deeper in he went.
Ren didn't even need to search; he knew which way to walk.
Please—unless you're blind, that one culm bathed in moonlight, gleaming with flowing radiance, tells you everything.
"Haah…"
He let out a helpless sigh.
Honestly,
if he had the choice, he wouldn't get tangled up in this mess.
But arms don't outwrestle thighs.
Nothing to be done.
If fate won't let you choose, then lie back and… enjoy the ride.
Looked at another way,
he was about to have someone "above" him, too?
Ren covered the distance in a few long strides, stopped before the unnaturally thick stalk, raised a hand like a blade, and chopped down.
The bamboo severed at the waist. Blinding gold spilled forth.
"That's… a lot of gold," Ren murmured at the mass packed inside the hollow.
No joke—
this much gold could rebuild most of his city.
Of course,
the gold was the least of it. Resting atop it lay a baby girl like a porcelain doll—rosy lips, bright teeth, a spill of black hair.
One glance was enough to know she wasn't an ordinary human.
Wrapped snug in swaddling, with a jade plaque on the cloth. Five characters engraved there: Kaguya.
Nailed it.
Ren took in the all-too-familiar scene, added up the jumbled set dressing and the name,
and the little porcelain babe's identity clicked with absolute certainty.
Runaway princess of the Lunar Capital.
Bamboo Cutter Princess.
NEET Princess.
"Haah…"
A thousand thoughts condensed into one weary sigh. "To be honest, I really didn't want to get involved in your little drama."
"…"
The doll-like infant said nothing, maintaining the perfect pretense of a newborn.
"Drop the act."
Head aching, Ren still bent closer. "I've got a decent idea of your background. Tell me—why me?"
Come on.
He didn't believe for a second that this was random luck—
that the Bamboo Cutter Princess just happened to descend into the bamboo grove of his ruined city.
Obvious enough:
someone had him pegged and dropped her here on purpose.
"…"
The little doll stayed quiet, only rolling her wide black eyes—cuter than ever.
"Kaguya."
Ren didn't waste words. He spoke her name, scooped her up, sat cross-legged on the ground.
"Waaah—"
The doll let out a baby's cry.
"Uh-uh." Ren shook his head at once.
"Kaguya, I know the broad strokes of where you're from. Don't feed me fluff—just tell me what's going on."
"Honestly,
I don't get it. I'm the inheriting lord of a broken little city. What part of that made you pick me?"
"With your status,
if you wanted, descending right into Heian-kyō would be no stretch, right?"
It all felt absurd to him. Worried about saying too much?
What for.
The Bamboo Cutter Princess had already landed in his backyard; what's there to hide? Better to lay it out and get answers.
Because behind this runaway princess stood Eirin—
and, farther back in the mythic age, Omoikane, of Takamagahara's top echelon; close friend of Tsukuyomi among the Three Noble Children; founder (in this telling) of the Lunar Capital.
The question was:
why him?
Did they run a background check
and decide he fit the bill?
"Father, this humble one was discourteous."
Still wearing a baby's skin, Kaguya's voice chimed clear and lovely—enough, on sound alone, to drive men mad.
"Done pretending?" Ren's brow quirked.
Nestled in his arms, Kaguya tipped up her small head to study his flawless features and spoke with poise, "Since you already know, Father, continuing the pretense is meaningless."
"So…"
"I still don't understand—why choose me?"
Ren looked down at her, a bit lost. He truly hadn't figured out
what, exactly, she'd seen in him.
Kaguya seemed to try for a graceful smile, though on a baby's face it only made her look more adorable.
"Father, if this humble one were to say it was all chance, you would…"
Before she could finish, Ren was already giving her dead-fish eyes.
You're kidding me, right?
Chance?
"…Very well. I know you wouldn't believe it, Father."
"However,"
"after sifting through countless candidates, this humble one still found Father to be the most suitable."
"After all,"
"this humble one has never known true 'love from a father.'"
"So,"
"I only wish to feel genuine 'fatherly love' from Father."
(End of Chapter)
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