59 Perfect Preparations... Kinda.

Not long before midnight :

Michael slowly shimmies up the building opposite the No-ratatouille restaurant, a quiet huff of exertion later and he finally pulls himself up onto stone outcropping decorating the building's wall. He takes a glance over at the restaurant roof which was still one story above him, and he releases a sigh while shrugging his bow into a more comfortable position.

His sword was firmly strapped to his waist and he had two daggers in his belt with one being specialized for this sort of job. It was like a fishhook, but with the outward-facing side being bladed, ready to slice things if needed. It kind of looked like a reverse scythe blade, only with a far more exaggerated curve. He was pulling out all the stops for this mission as he seriously couldn't risk failing, if he couldn't complete it, he'd catch the next Airship to Albion to escape Loutiel.

He was wearing his typical armour, the sleeveless gambeson, padded trousers, boots... But replacing his usual brown cloak was a new black one, that'd been scavenged from the corpses of those elite fighters.

It was enchanted to provide limited camouflage after not moving for a couple seconds, as well as obscuring his figure if someone spots him from a certain distance away... He remembered that those three guy's looked fuzzy when they first ambushed him, which is probably the cloak at work.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, he looks up at another outcropping, surveying it for a moment before jumping and catching the tip of his hook knife on the stone to help him climb up. The knife also served to activate his runes, without having to stuff a dagger in his mouth or some other equally annoying workaround...

Michael could hear the faint sounds of people enjoying the rooftop bar of the restaurant, meaning he'd have to tread carefully from here on... Honestly, he was pretty crap at climbing, and the only reason he was actually able to do this so quietly was his ridiculous rune-enhanced stats, and his small stature.

He continues climbing up the building and once at a comfortable height, he leaps from the wall towards the restaurant's wall. His momentum would make it difficult to catch himself on the stone outcropping, but fortunately, the building's owners felt it necessary to add decorative wooden struts, allowing his hook knife to get a good grip in the lumber.

His legs kick empty air for a moment as he tries to find something to stand on, but once he calms h himself he just pulls himself up to the strut instead. This left only two or three meters til he reached the rooftop, so after a bit more shimmying, he poke his head over the ledge and looks around.

There were a few groups of people mingling around while sipping expensive-looking drinks. A waiter passes by and almost spots him. But Michael is able to hang out of sight until the man passes.

This would be far more difficult than Michael had anticipated... The rooftop was too busy, and there was a high likelihood that he'd be spotted if he hid in the spot that he planned to. His eyes are drawn towards the corner of the roof where some sort of gargoyle statue sits, his eyes follow it down and he grins as he spots a small ledge that was helping reinforce the stone to keep the gargoyle situated. "There." he whispers to himself as he quickly starts climbing down to it.

Soon enough, he found himself sitting under the gargoyle... This was the perfect spot, as he was hidden from both the occupants of the roof, and also the street below as he was concealed slightly by its shadows.

He sheaths his hook dagger and pulls the bow from his shoulder, taking an arrow from his quiver and nocking it in preparation for when Anais shows up.

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A woman with short platinum blonde hair struts along the road with a confident, almost smug expression. She wore a heavy layer of makeup, but even without it, most would find her quite attractive.

She was garbed in a thick wool cloak, which hid her beautiful turquoise dress under it. Her feet would make a clacking sound on the cobbled road with every step due to her high-heels, though she showed no indication that she was uncomfortable or even unstable wearing them.

This was Viscountess Anais Nowell, but she wasn't alone. Around her was five of her best servants dressed in peasant clothes as to not draw attention. Their formation was a bit peculiar, but each was near enough to intervene should anything happen...

Noone was expecting an attack of course, as Anais was one of the nobles in the city with a good reputation. There'd be no reason for anyone to target her, and even if they did, she was a Triangle mage with enough experience to handle things herself.

Thus, these guards were only to keep the ruffians and drunks away while she attends to her duties. As for today, she was meeting with a very important person for both her and the city of Antomiers... The leader of the Baleine gang, Mary Dieu-Le-Veut.

They were already deep into Baleine territory, so there were around twenty well-geared men and women following the group to provide further protection to their guests... After all, if something were to happen to her in their own territory, it'd only exacerbate the tenuous relationship between city officials and the notorious gang.

Anais smiles at the surrounding people who were making way for her while drooling at her appearance, flicking her hair in an elegant and intentionally seductive manner. A single wink from her almost has one-man push through the crowd to propose to her... Only for him to be stopped and escorted away by the undercover Baleine gang members... He'd only be left with a broken leg, which was considered just a warning...