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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 1 Chapter 3 Part 1

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Translator: Kurehashi Aiko

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CHAPTER 3: The Head Maid’s Summer Vacation

 

PART 1

 

As Belfast passed right next to the kitchen window, the dew from the rain that had been falling for about two weeks now was dripping down the edge of the window.

 

As the dew slid gently over the edge of the windowsill, it slid down onto the ground below, combining with other fallen water droplets. The rain seemed to have continued until near dawn, and the air outside was so moist that it felt like it was sticking to your skin in a nasty manner.

 

Looking out of the window that had just been opened, Belfast turned her gaze towards the clear blue sky with human-shaped clouds hanging over it. The clouds were so big that you could truly feel the change of seasons.

 

Summer was about to begin in earnest, after all.

 

[It looks like it will be hot today.]

 

After saying that to herself out loud, Belfast prepared the usual serving of bread crumbs for the small birds from the nearby trees, and after casting a short glance at the slightly muddy terrain outside of the window, the Head Maid started to prepare the breakfast in earnest. 

 

[–––––– Belfast.]

 

Surprised when her name was called out all of a sudden like that, Belfast turned around right away.

 

And surely enough, it was Sheffield who was standing right there.

 

Staring at her face, which was her usual expressionless self, Belfast tilted her head to the side slightly. Normally, Sheffield would never come into the kitchen this early in the morning? Could it be that she had some business to attend to here? Or maybe it was something else entirely?

 

[Hm? What’s wrong, Sheffy?]

 

In her hands, Sheffield was holding a long poker and a metal bucket. The maid took the extra trouble of showing off those two tools to Belfast before she eventually gave the Head Maid a proper explanation.

 

[There was no one who was willing to do it, so I took it upon myself to clean the charcoal stove here. I guess that there is nothing that can be done about it.]

 

There were also some rags and baking soda and other detergents inside of that bucket that Sheffield was carrying, so it seemed that she intended to thoroughly clean not only the stove itself, but also its immediate surroundings as well. Now, whether it was going to be a big cleanup or not, this action could actually put the usual breakfast serving time in jeopardy, derailing it from its usual time.

 

But that was not the problem here.

 

[Why do you want to do my job, pray tell?]

 

While Belfast asked her that question, Shieffield actually did not answer, and while the Head Maid was still in doubt about her presence here, she casually approached the coal stove and crouched down right away in order to start cleaning it up. 

 

[Actually, that should be my line here, Head Maid. What are you even doing here in the first place?]

 

Hearing that, Belfast was unable to understand what Sheffield was about, so she just looked at her with a completely blank expression left on her face.

 

Sheffield looked at Belfast with a blank look as well.

 

[Were you not the one who ordained that in the first place? That you are going to leave the preparations for breakfast for today in my hands? Normally it would be Edi’s job to prepare breakfast, but since she said that she wanted to see you off properly, she made a deal with me to switch our responsibilities. Did you not know that?]

 

[P-Please, wait a moment here! You’re saying that it was my idea? And seeing me off? What do you even mean by that……?]

 

In response to Belfast’s surprised question, Sheffield finally let out a long and deep sigh.

 

She then wordlessly pointed at the calendar hanging on the kitchen wall.

 

There was a large flower circle that was written in red pen on the square indicating today’s date. When Belfast slid her gaze just below that red flower, what she saw there was that there was something written in the same red pen in the small blank area where you could write notes.

 

And judging from the handwriting, it was probably written by Kent.

 

[……I would never think that it would be the case here, but did you really forget about today?]

 

Now, that was completely unexpected.

 

Flicking through the calendar in a hurry, Belfast finally remembered what day it was today.

 

[Today is ––––– Today is my day off……]

 

On the margin of the calendar, there was also a short message reading “Holiday! Head Maid, thank you for all of your hard work every day!” in cursive letters. Also, there was a small caricature picture of Belfast, most probably drawn by Suffolk.

 

[Head Maid, we all know just how much you tend to love your job, but even you ––––––]

 

While scraping out the remaining ashes in the opening under the stove and removing it from under there, Sheffield then rose to her feet in a hurry.

 

[–––––– I would advise you to return to your room as soon as possible and change into your plain clothes, Head Maid. If you keep looking like that, this day off will never actually feel like a day off at all, and if you do not hurry, you will have to be in a constant rush later on. As for the preparations, you can leave everything to me. So how about it?]

 

[I…… I guess that you are right. I really do need to hurry.]

 

As she said those words, all of a sudden Belfast felt as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It was actually the kind of relaxation that you were supposed to feel at the end of each day, and it felt very strange for the Head Maid to be feeling like that while the sun was only about to rise from over the horizon.

 

After that exchange was over, Sheffield staggered out of the kitchen with the bucket still in her hands, watching the clearly troubled Belfast, who was quietly doing her job without saying any kind of words, and could now only watch as her usual duties were being stolen from her. She did not know why, but it felt a little bit lonely and sad.

 

It was just two rainy afternoons ago when she was handed the notice of the seasonal holiday that she was obliged to take.

 

In the notice, it was possible to choose from two possible options: a hot spring inn course to soothe one’s tiredness and fatigue, and a camping course to enjoy outdoor activities by a mountain stream. When Belfast sent the notice back with a circle at her preferred choice, a lodging ticket for an inn as well as a train ticket was sent to her room a few days later.

 

For someone like Belfast, even on a day when there was a military-grade commission that needed to be  taken care off, there was absolutely no time for physical leisure of any kind. So even if she was already back from the commission, this meant that she would just go back to her regular duties, such as preparing meals or cleaning. It was physically taxing, but overall a fulfilling experience.

 

While holding an unrealistic lodging ticket and a train ticket in her hands, she also vaguely recalled a memory of passing onto Edinburgh the list of duties for today, as well as instructing the other maids from the Maid Corps about the various things that they would need to get done. She did not understand why that memory would pop up inside of her head just now, but it did.

 

[But anyways, I have to prepare accordingly.]

 

Shaking off her feelings of loneliness, Belfast went up the stairs while putting her hand on the brass handrails.

 

When she reached her room, she pushed the door open with an uneasy feeling for some strange reason.

 

At the bottom of the bunk bed, Belfast gently shook Edinburgh, who was wearing a nightcap on top of her head and frilly pajamas to boot, and was still asleep peacefully.

 

[It’s morning already, Nee-san. Please wake up.]

 

[Uuuhhhmmm…… Morning already?]

 

Seeing her sister sit up on top of the bed after her body slumped under the sheets for a moment, Belfast went towards a small closet that both of them shared at the side of the bed, and stood in front of it.

 

When she opened the double-door closet made of mahogany wood, she found a few spare clothes that she had only tried on a long time ago, never to wear them again. But they were left as they were from that time, in nearly perfect condition. Edinburgh, who was looking at it all with still sleepy eyes, let out a big yawn while she was at it. As for Belfast, she spread the clothes right in front of her, facing a really serious choice of having to pick one outfit in particular for herself to wear.

 

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