Elric's fingers tapped lightly against the steering wheel as he pulled into a bar parking lot.
Rather than just being a regular bar, this one was almost more of a small performance center.
There was a constant list of singers or performers booking shows, and almost all of their music was live.
The bar provided top-of-the-line equipment and a large stage to singers, while they showed off their skills for the bar's patrons.
And this particular night, Angeline would be the one taking the stage.
After finding a fairly isolated parking spot that looked to be fairly hidden from any of the cameras on the side of the building, Elric's eyes scanned the parking lot.
It didn't take him long to find his target.
It wasn't unusual for singers to arrive early and practice in the bar's back prep room, and it was the same for Angeline. She and whatever managers who were with her had already arrived.
'I went through all the effort of memorizing all of their license plates and car models, but they ended up driving a labeled company vehicle. Oh well, it's better to be overprepared, I guess.'
Picking up the hefty weight chain he'd tossed into the car a few days back, Elric climbed out of his car. He immediately started walking to the far side of the parking lot and pulled his hood over to hide his face.
'Hmph, this girl was asking for it by messing with Ember. Hopefully, her absence in the space will open up some more time for Ember to perform, too.'
After confirming that his face was barely visible, Elric turned back and walked over to the side of the building, where the NexRu car was parked.
His steps swayed like he was drunk, and he inadvertently brushed against a few cars as he approached.
When he reached the front of the agency car, he tripped over the small curb, falling flat on his face.
A disgruntled Elric unsteadily got back to his feet, wiping a small trail of blood from his nose and looking around to see if anyone had noticed his fall.
When he saw that there was no one around to laugh at him, he continued on to the door of the bar, still swaying as if he was drunk.
Now, though, he felt a couple of kilograms lighter.
Elric smiled slightly as he entered the bar, happy with how well his plan was going so far.
The inside of the bar was already bustling despite it still being early in the evening, and Elric continued his drunk acting as he removed his sweatshirt, then flipped it inside out and wore it again. Now, it looked more like a vest.
He was moving through the crowds toward the bar as he flipped it around, and no one paid any particular attention to him.
"Bartender, grab me something."
Sliding onto one of the few open bar stools, Elric slurred his words as he pounded on the countertop, demanding a drink. There were multiple people working the bar, and one of them slid a glass of clear liquid over to the young man after only a few seconds.
Elric raised the cup to his lips, then gave a satisfied expression after tasting the brew.
It was plain water.
"Bartender, more of this all night! It's been a while since -hic- I had such fine vodka!"
If he could avoid it, Elric wanted to avoid actually getting drunk. He was confident his acting abilities would be enough, and it seemed it was already working.
It would still be a little while until Angeline started her performance, so Elric turned to watch the current people on stage. It was a group of older men playing a jazz set.
The beat was catchy, and their lead singer's rough voice grumbled and broke as he reached for stronger notes, and before he knew it, Elric found himself swaying to the beat.
'Angry jazz, it's been a while since I've heard it, but it really is a bop if there's a good band playing!'
The saxophone and trumpet players worked in concert to support their lead singer, and sometimes even overtook his powerful voice, adding more conflict to their song.
Despite it not being as popular or mainstream as pop or normal jazz, their angry performance was clearly enough to impress everyone watching.
When their song eventually ended, Elric rubbed his chin in thought.
'Ember's voice sounds really emotional when she sings, but I've never heard her be angry. She might be really good at something like this, though… I kinda want to hear her sing something like this.'
Elric was lacking the saxophone, trumpet, and drum players, but he figured it wouldn't be impossible to at least find accompanists if he wanted her to try performing an angry jazz song once.
'Eh, that will take a lot to set up. I'll have to talk to her after she gets back to see if it's even viable. Besides, she's already great enough as is.'
The jazz band played one more song- this one more of a normal style of jazz, with much softer vocals- before they headed off the stage for the night.
One of the bar's staff members came out onto the stage, holding up the microphone to introduce the next performer.
"Please welcome Angeline, a talented young singer focused on pop and country songs!"
Aside from a small group near the stage that cheered wildly, the bar seemed only mildly interested. A few jazz enjoyers even looked a bit annoyed at the change in musical genre and headed for the bar's exit.
Taking a sip from his glass that'd just been refilled again, Elric's eyes narrowed as he watched the singer make her way out onto the stage.
Angeline looked the exact same as she had in the videos Elric had seen of her.
After taking the mic, the girl introduced herself to the crowd, drawing more gleeful cheers from the fan group at the front.
As he watched, Elric realized that a few of the guys in the group looked vaguely familiar. Two of them used crutches to support themselves, and a third looked fine but was moving a bit less enthusiastically than the rest of the group.
'It's those drunks I fought when Ember was singing before. I was going to make a bit of a ruckus here to disturb her concert, but they'll probably recognize me. It might be better to stay quiet.'
After greeting her fans, Angeline rejoined the musicians who came with her at the center of the stage, then raised the mic up to her mouth.
~
Today, this will be mine~
This gushing red love-
I can see it like a string, connecting our hearts with a line~
~
Elric couldn't help but appreciate how smooth the singer's voice was, and the rest of the bar was the same. Even the previously discontented jazz fans who were still on their way out paused and looked over to the stage.
'She definitely has more practice and training than Ember.'
Angeline's voice was clearer, smoother, and more professional than Ember's.
'But she's nowhere near as good. This Angeline girl might be objectively better, but compared to the emotion in Ember's singing, she has nothing. Even if I sat back and did nothing, Ember would probably overcome this girl eventually.'
Elric continued sitting at the bar as she went through her songs, playing six of them before she finally moved to leave the stage. She received a warm round of applause from the bar, and a few conversations around Elric shifted to the contents of the singing.