Something that can only end well

The idea was one that was rather unorthodox, but had great potential. As it was, I had a great amount of opponents, and many of my operations would be combatted as I was a new faction in these already established wars. However, what if there was something else for these actions to be traced to?

I would not be fought against if the thing that did the actions I wouldn't need connected to the church didn't connect to me. It was a simple tactic that could be utilized well in my past life with burner gangs, however now it had greater potential now that I had the ability to create servants from thin air.

My thoughts were cut short as I became aware of something. I could no longer hear Natalia through the window to the outside of the hat. I quickly moved myself out of the chair and pretended to simply be approaching the desk and looking at the art on top.

It was not long before I heard a cushioned thumping noise, signifying what must be her arrival into the hat. Only a few moments later, there was a slight gasp and the sound of someone running over towards me.

Natalia threw herself delicately between me and the table, "AH! No, don't look at those!"

She had a quite heavy blush, making it impossible not to let out an amused chuckle. "Why shouldn't I? You have made me look quite flattering, it would be rude not to appreciate such art."

She seemed taken aback, "Y-you're not mad?" Then her eyes went wide in realization, "Y-you like them!?!"

I smiled at her, "Why shouldn't I? You make me look quite handsome."

Her blush made her look like she was part devil. She let out an "eep!" and then covered her face and ran back to the pile of pillows, trying to hide in them. I let out a slight chuckle and walked over slowly before stopping near the edge of them.

I let out a sigh, "If I wasn't supposed to see them, then my deepest apologies."

She poked her head out of the pile of pillows she had placed upon herself, "No! Well, kinda... I didn't think you would ever get to see them..." She looked down at the bottom of the hat in a mixture of sadness and nerves.

She shook her head slowly, "But... well, you did." She smiled to herself, "And you liked them... I didn't think you'd like them..." She went silent, seemingly daydreaming. She didn't seem like she wanted to pull herself out of it, and being a gentleman, I stood there in silence to let her enjoy the moment.

There was a limit to even a gentleman's patience, however. I cleared my throat, "It would be nice to know a way out of your hat, unless you plan on keeping me here for yourself?"

She looked at me, beginning to speak until I said the last part of my sentence. At that, she paused, and the blush returned as she quickly buried herself in the pillows again. There was a slight screeching muffed by the pillows that I could hear, apparently my simple tease had a larger effect than I thought.

After waiting for a few more moments she eventually got herself more together and came back out of the pillows. "Ahem, yes of course I will help you out." She then walked around for a few moments reciting something to herself before finally lifting up a seemingly random pillow. "Tada~!"

Below the pillow was a mark that looked like a stereotypical magic circle. I looked over to her, "So, do I step in it?"

She blinked at me a few times, before she shook her head to get a hold of herself. "Ah, uh, yeah! That should do it!" She seemed like she was showing more confidence on the outside than she actually felt, but I shrugged and stepped onto the symbol.

It was a very unique experience. At first, it was like stepping onto a pressure plate of sorts, as it almost felt like it sunk under my weight. Then, it shoved me upwards like a launching pad, and I felt like I was flying for a great distance until there was at last a light at the end.

Suddenly, I was in the room I had seen through the window in the hat. I carefully landed on the ground, not feeling any pain but still opting for a safer style of landing to prevent falling over. After straightening myself up, I heard a thump on the bed behind me.

As I turned around I saw Natalia looking at me with a fake pouty face, "And he sticks the landing first try. Do you know how many times it took for me to simply not break something in the room?" We shared a laugh afterwards, before I caught a glimpse of the window outside.

It was already getting dark, and for my plan to work, I needed a lot of time in case of error. I turned back to her, trying to find an excuse, before seeing her seemingly in a very deep internal debate. I let out a sight that caught her attention, and she fallowed my vision to the window.

She seemed to understand, "Ah, you should get going, shouldn't you?"

I decided to have a bit more fun with her, "Indeed, if anyone were to discover us this late, there would be no end to your friends' comments." She went a shade of red that rivaled an apple, as I gave her a bow and left the room.

With that handled for the most part, I made my way back to my room as quietly as possible. I didn't want to disturb anyone, and I wanted to get to my room with as much time to spare as possible. As I at last reached my room, I quickly went in and locked the door behind me.

Now that I was certain no one would be getting in behind me, I entered my domain in order to have as much mana as possible for what I was about to attempt. I traveled until I was at the ritual shrine, still upkept by the spirits I had left behind.

At last, I got into position so I could begin my plan.