(MC POV)
I came out of the baths with Luna wrapping her arms around mine, the Matriarch looking extremely satisfied.
I should also mention that she's at least a good head taller than I was, so she was technically lifting my arm at an angle in our position.
What can I say? She was still a beautiful and desirable woman after all and if such a person makes such an earnest request, it's hard to deny her. Not to mention, I do have a rather favourable impression of her this time.
Or maybe it's just like what the people around me keep saying, I'm just too kind.
"Haaa~~ Husband is husband after all~ This must be what happiness feels like~ Ahhnn~~ Can we do this every night from now on? Is that too much? I'm fine with every other night too. If husband can embrace me just like how you embrace your disciples, that would be great too. I wouldn't mind joining in as well you know? I won't compete with them, just please throw me some affection now and then. Just a little bit is fine, you know?"
"This woman really is shameless…" Akari muttered, to which Shiori just hit her sister with her tail again.
Luna looked down at me, "What shall we do now, husband? Maybe an evening stroll through my city? Maybe we can go watch a play? Then we can have a nice candlelit dinner and have some drinks. Husband can then take me back to an inn and then… And then… Ufufufufu~"
"Look at her sister! She's so utterly shameless!"
"Shut up sister, before I freeze you and throw you in a ditch."
"Masteeeeer! Sister is bullying meeee..."
At least the two foxes were the same as always.
I don't actually mind spending time with Luna now that she wasn't torturing me in this life, taking a stroll around the city doesn't sound too bad either. I never actually did get the chance to look around this place in my previous life.
Then after Luna has introduced me to the interesting places around here, I can bring my cute disciples around as well.
Perfect plan, even if I do say so myself.
Speaking of which…
"Are my disciples back yet?"
Luna looked to her side and called out, "Rina."
The maid girl immediately appeared by her side with her head bowed, "You called for me, your Majesty?"
"Has husband's disciples returned?"
"I'm afraid not, your Majesty. Shall I send the Shadowblades to go search for them?"
Luna turned back to me, indicating that she was leaving the decision to me.
I would very much like to ask what the 'Shadowblades' were but I'm guessing it's like their reconnaissance team or something like that.
"It's fine, there's no need to go that far, I was just curious," I told them with a shake of my head.
Since none of my alarm inscriptions were triggered, they should not be in any danger anyway.
And if any of it did go off, I would just immediately teleport there and get rid of any danger threatening them.
"Would husband like to go on a date with me?" Luna asked with a sparkle in her eyes.
"Umu… I suppose I wouldn't mind. But what should we do?"
Luna gasped, "Truly? Oh how wonderful! Today really is the best day ever! Rina!"
Rina immediately pulled out a stack of papers to hand it over to Luna.
"Reporting to your Majesty. Written here are the schedules of the plays and shows happening today, the recommended restaurants and their specialties, the shops that are ideal for couples, the best routes to take for a stroll and the best inns for couples to spend the night in."
What's with this absurdly high spec maid? Did you have this prepared way beforehand just in case Luna asked you for one? Seriously, how absurd can you be?
Luna simply plucked the stack of papers from Rina's hands like it was the most normal thing in the world, I guess she's already used to Rina so this might actually be the norm for the both of them.
I quickly raised my hand, "Before you say anything, I will most definitely not stay the night in an inn with you."
Luna looked at me in shock, "Whoever has heard of a date that doesn't involve spending the night at an inn?! Of course it's natural for us to end it there, right husband?"
"I don't know where you even heard that from but I can guarantee you such a logic does not exist back on my Plane."
"Unnn… I guess this may be a cultural difference between our Planes. Very well, I shall abide by husband's common sense and forgo that part of the date. We can always just return to the palace instead."
No, no. I'm pretty sure I already guessed what was going on. For Luna who has never had experience in dating, she probably got the wrong information about it and believes them to be fact. I'm pretty sure she also got the idea that 'couples must bathe together' or something from the same source, that's why she was so insistent on us taking a bath together.
I'm a little worried about what else she misunderstood since her target of affection was me after all.
Just as that thought came to my mind, Luna smiled at me, "What does husband think of this play? A Queen of a big country falls in love with an otherworlder who was in love with someone else. The otherworlder rejects the queen at first but the queen doesn't give up her pursuit of love and eventually woos her love, even getting his other love to accept her. It's a great story isn't it, husband?"
I blinked, "Why does that sound oddly specific to our situation? You did not order this play to be made did you?"
Rina bowed her head, "Reporting to Master, this is actually based on a rather popular story that has been circulating our Plane for several decades. As unbelievable as it sounds, her Majesty's circumstances matching this play's story is purely coincidental. The author of this story still remains a mystery till--"
"I wrote the story, husband! It was one of the tools I used to consolidate power!" Luna interrupted her with a proud expression plastered on her face.
Rina sighed, "Yes… Her Majesty wrote the book several decades ago under an alias and the public took a very huge liking to it. It humanized her Majesty and made her look more approachable, even though they knew the queen mentioned in the story was not referring to her Majesty. The fact that her Majesty allowed this story to be published made her more popular."
So it was meant as another political piece she had made use of, I can believe that.
I shrugged, "You know what, that sounds interesting so why not?"
Since she was the one who wrote it, perhaps I could see what else she might do through the play and prepare myself for it. And I'm not someone who can't appreciate art anyway.
Luna clapped her hands together, "That's wonderful! Rina!"
The maid bowed, "I will prepare the carriage at once."
Hopefully this would just end as a normal date.