3 bar menu

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

---

---

Translator: Kurehashi Aiko

---

CHAPTER 1: HOW TO PREPARE THE MOST DELICIOUS TEA OF THEM ALL

 

PART 1

 

The hour was still before dawn, and the outside air coming into the room through the open window still had a slight chill to it.

 

That is the very first thing to do on the daily agenda of the Royal Navy’s Maid Corps Head Maid  ––– the Second Ship of the Edenborough Class –––  named Belfast.

 

Surrounded by mountains from almost every direction, this section of the Home Port was fashioned after a large school building and was governed by the Port’s Commander. And one of the buildings located on a small hill in the eastern part of the school’s campus was the “Dormitory” where the shipgirls belonging to the “Royal Navy” faction lived.

 

The Dormitory was a three-story building build in the Neo Gothic style, complete with a small bell tower located on its roof. The inside corridors of the building were quite long, with rooms located on both the west and east side, and if you were to look out the window you would get an excellent view on the Port central pier in the distance. 

 

At the current moment, Belfast was walking down the quiet corridors lined with tall windows and various traceries.

 

Eventually, when she went down the flight of stairs in the center of the corridor leading to the first floor, she slowly pushed open the large double door located slightly to the of the stairs.

 

Even though this place was built to accommodate all of the shipgirls living in this dormitory all at once, this particular dining room was simply way too big to meet that end.

 

And although there was stained glass placed in the windows here that allowed the daylighting to freely fall inside of the dining room, this place was way more dim when compared to the corridors just outside of it.

 

Belfast picked up one of the handheld oil lamps that was hanging on the wall right next to the door, took a match out of her apron’s pocket and lit it in a swift and experienced move. The oil of the scale that was replaced and maintained on a regular basis throughout the year start burning moderately and begins to dimly illuminate the entire view of the dining room with a soft light.

 

Now with the old and reliable dim light of the handheld lantern in her grasp, Belfast started to move towards the back of the great dining room.

 

There was a single wooden door right at the very back of the dining hall, and when the Head Maid inserted the key into the keyhole and opened the door, what came to her view was the view of both the scullery and the kitchen illuminated by the lamp’s light. This room was also equipped with the crevice windows just of the same fashion like the ones in the dormitory’s corridors, and the faint sunlight of dawn that was seeping in through the gaps in the curtains on the eastern side of the room was illuminating all kinds of cooking utensils and washed dishes that were lining up the shelves there.

 

Belfast then extinguished the fire burning inside of the handheld lantern and placed it on top of one of the larger tables that was primarily used for cooking. What she got instead was a tray with the leftover hardened bread that was resting peacefully under the food cover, the remains of the dinner from last night.

 

When she picked up the tray with the hardened bread, Belfast then went towards the curtain that was covering one of the windows and slid herself behind it.

 

Looking down from the ginkgo trees that could be seen from beyond the glass window, there was a bunch of small birds that were restlessly hopping in place, some of them bold enough to even fly down from the trees and stand at the very edge of the outside windowsill. They looked like they were actually waiting for something.

 

Belfast then unlocked the window and opened it ever so slightly with a gentle movement, as to not scare the birds away.

 

At that moment, driven by the slight gust of wind, the silk curtain fluttered inside of the kitchen like a giant balloon.

 

「Good morning, everyone.」

 

Belfast said while carefully brushing the curtain aside and placing the tray with the hardened bread at the edge of the windowsill, smiling towards the small birds that started to chirp in a lively manner not so far away from the window.

 

「It seems that you are all pretty early to rise, unlike the majority of the girls in this dormitory.」

 

In response to the Head Maid’s compassionate call, a there was a gentle chirping sound rippling through the air as the small birds got closer to the bread tray, their singing carried by the wind all the way down to the harbor.

 

At that moment a gentle, warm breeze shakes Belfast’s long, silver hair, causing them to flutter. 

 

The morning was certainly turning out to be a nice and pleasant one.

 

「It looks like today is going to be another sunny day as well.」

 

Looking up towards the heavens, Belfast could see that the dawn star was still shining bright in the indigo skies with not even a single trace of a cloud to be seen as far as the eye could see.

 

Belfast then made sure that all the pieces of the hard bread would be turned into small, easily consumable scraps, before she slowly closed the window and backed away as to not disturb the little birds that already started flocking all around it.

 

With the window now properly closed, the curtain that was previously inflated like a huge balloon now started to deflate and go back to normal. 

 

And once the curtain was completely flat as it used to be, Belfast took its hem and tied it to the edge of the window, so that it would stay in one place and allow the sunlight to come through the window into the room.

 

「Now then, I guess I should start getting the breakfast ready.」

 

***

 

There was a bell tower right above the Royal Navy’s dormitory, and at the current moment its bell was tolling loudly, its echo carrying well beyond this part of the school’s campus. 

 

The small birds that were happily pecking at the small bread crumbs placed on the windowsill already finished their meal and flew away, nowhere to be found. 

 

The dawn star that was shining in the indigo sky just a moment ago also disappeared, and now its presence was replaced by the sun that was slowly climbing its way across the heavens, its bright sunlight shining down on the dormitory and falling inside of it through the tall windows.

 

 

After arranging all the breakfast dishes on the special wagon cart, Belfast headed to the cupboard located right next to the door to find a can of tea leaves that was used exclusively for serving breakfast.

 

It was at that time that Belfast could hear someone screaming in the distance. The voice was then accompanied by the loud sound of frantic footsteps drawing closer and closer.

 

「Bel, I’m really sorry!」

 

The person who happened to slam the door opened with a loud bang while they ran inside of the kitchen also happened to have silver hair. The braids on both sides of that person’s head were shaking violently as she was running, and the glasses that she was wearing were about to fall off of her nose at any moment now because of the sheer momentum of her frantic movements.

 

「Wait, but what about the preparations for breakfast……?」

 

While setting her glasses back to their original position on top of her nose, Edinburgh, the woman who just came crushing into the kitchen, looked at Belfast, small beads of sweat visibly cropping all over her forehead.

 

「Nee-san, you say “breakfast preparations”, but the only thing that I have left to do now is to prepare the tea, see?」

 

Unlike Edenborough, Belfast was perfectly calm and she answered her sister as such, all the while taking out two cans of tea leaves from the cupboard as if nothing that out of the ordinary had happened now.

 

「Haah…… I’m glad.」

 

Edinburgh put her hand on her chest and let out a deep and long sigh of relief. Then she took a few deep breaths to bring back her composure, and then she raised her eyebrows and stood by Belfast’s side while she went towards the cooking table.

 

「Hey, Bel, just listen to this! I think it’s all spring’s fault here! Spring’s!」

 

Said Edinburgh while slamming her hands on top of the table to accentuate her words in a serious manner.

 

「“In spring one sleeps a sleep that knows no dawn”, is that what you are trying to say? (TL NOTE: “In spring……” the meaning here is “In spring one sleeps like a log”)」

 

「Yes! That’s it! That’s exactly what I meant here!」 

 

While she was listening to her sister’s words, Belfast put a lid on a round tea blender, which looked precisely like one of those lottery prizes that you could sometimes get in the nearby shopping district.

 

---

---