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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 1 Chapter 3 Part 11

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Translator: Kurehashi Aiko

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PART 11

 

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Belfast returned to their room at the inn, and while she was standing by the window and fanning herself with that hand fan, at some point she heard a noise coming from the corridor and she then turned around, thinking it was her fellow Royal Navy shipgirls that came back as well.

 

[Welcome back, every ––––––]

 

But seeing the state of her four fellow shipgirls who came back to the room, Belfast swallowed those words halfway through.

 

[Umm, everyone? What is the meaning of this?]

 

Rodney was holding a huge glass bowl in her hands, with goldfish swimming inside of it, and Renown was holding onto a large water balloon.

 

As for Repulse herself, well, it was not something that Belfast did not actually expect to happen. Because she really expected that she might go too far at some point here. As for what she was holding onto, it was a literal mountain-load of various gadgets and prizes, so big that she was unable to hold it in her hands all at once.

 

No matter how one might have wanted to enjoy the festival’s mood, it was clearly WAY too much.

 

[Ahahaha…… I guess I must have gotten way too enthusiastic about this whole festival thingy at some point.]

 

Repulse could only smile wryly while she said that.

 

[Really now? For me it felt more like this was exactly what you were aiming for from the start, and once you were on a roll you just could not stop yourself……]

 

When Repulse finally laid all of the prizes she was able to get on the tatami floor, she then started to faithfully recreate the whole situation for Belfast and others to see. According to her story, she was just casually strolling from stall to stall ,and she just so happened to score a main prize after the main prize and before she even knew it, the pile of goods she had won grew to this gargantuan size.

 

[Okay, so? What exactly are you going to do with all of that junk? Because I hope that you are aware of that, but you can’t possibly take it all back home with you.]

 

Nelson was staring at the mountain-load of prizes as if she was smitten by its sheer size. Belfast also looked at the prizes carefully, and among them she could see the latest home-use game consoles, as well as the retro ones, an item that surely could not be taken onto the train with them. Repulse said that she might have gotten too excited about the prizes, but how could a mere excitement produce a result that was so much outside of the norm like that?

 

[N-Noo, you see, about that. Umm, I don’t really know what to do with all of that stuff, but wouldn’t that be a waste just to return them like that? You know?]

 

Even though Repulse was scratching his head, it clearly looked like she really didn’t want to return any of her spoils.

 

The Head Maid then cast a quick glance over at Rodney.

 

[Rodney-san, where exactly did you get this huge bowl?]

 

There was a huge bowl filled with water in Rodney’s hands, and there was a red goldfish and a black goldfish swimming happily inside of it.

 

[Oh, this? I actually bought this bowl at a high-end product store at one of the many attraction stalls at the festival.]

 

As Rodney was saying that, the door leading to the room slid open again and several “Manjuu” came right in.

 

Nelson watched over them as they laid out the sumptuous kaiseki dishes that they were carrying in both of their “hands” each, the portions made for five people and carefully laid all over the dining table. After the food was all brought over, Nelson then sternly turned towards Repulse.

 

[Since this is just the perfect opportunity for it, how about you return all those prizes that you have managed to get back to those birds?]

 

Hearing that, Repulse let out a short cry of dissatisfaction, and stared at the literal mountain-load of prize she hauled back to the inn with reluctance.

 

[D-Do you really want me to give it all back? Seriously? All of it?]

 

[I will throw you a bone here and you can keep one of those.]]

 

[…… But it took me like ages to get all of that stuff!]

 

With huge tears in her eyes, Repulse regretfully handed the mountain-load of prizes back to the “Manjuus”.

 

Belfast for a moment out there thought that the “Manjuus” would not be able to accept the mountain-load of various prizes, but to Belfast’s imminent surprise the “Manjuus” just accepted it all and started to carry it all out without a problem.

 

Perhaps thinking that a retro gaming console would be too bulky to bring it back home with them, Repulse left only one thing with her: a 1.8-liter bottle of sake.

 

[I wonder if this is a good idea to drink while we are here? Think it is allowed?]

 

[Hmm, let’s see…… I don’t actually see a problem with it.]

 

As soon as Nelson looked at the table where the kaiseki dishes were all neatly placed and ready to be consumed, she couldn’t help it but to smile in a warm way.

 

In addition to fresh seafood and seasonal vegetables, the food on the dining table, which also included a small pot with a lid on it for boiling purposes, looked so delicious that you would start to drool just by looking at it and inhaling its tempting fragrance.

 

[Oh, long have I waited! I waited so long just for this very moment now!]

 

As soon as Nelson took a seat with an eager look on her face, everyone else sat down as well and picked up their chopsticks and got ready to eat. And thanks to the lesson that Belfast gave them earlier today, this time around no one seemed to be having any problems with holding onto their eating utensils.

 

[Well then, without any further ado, let’s eat!]

 

After Nelson said those words enthusiastically, each of the Royal Navy shipgirls began to place the dishes on their plates and consume them.

 

There was sashimi, boiled soy sauce, soup, and other summer-like dishes, and all of them were simply delicious. As for the raw ingredients, a huge portion of them was unfamiliar for the Royal Navy shipgirls who would usually have little to no touch with the Eastern cuisine, but even so, they have all found a thing or two that was very much to their liking, and overall it was all surprisingly good.

 

Then, after everyone was done with eating the dishes of their choosing, it was time to move on to the main attraction of the meal, the hotpot and its contents.

 

[Isn’t there a lighter or something with which we could light the pot? Maybe a candle, or something like that?]

 

Nelson asked while looking around. Seeing her sister acting that way, Rodney also searched under the table, and she was able to discover a kitchen lighter, an item that had been completely forgotten until now.

 

[Speaking of which, I completely forgot about this bottle, and that it was here in the first place.]

 

Rodney said so while spinning a huge bottle that she just found, trying to read what was written on its label.

 

[Umm…… It seems to be eastern sake, or something closely related to it.]

 

[Huh? I thought it was going to be wine or something like that.]

 

When Repulse let her voice out in apparent disappointment, Belfast also took interest in the bottle and looked at its label from the side, wanting to see it for herself. At the same time, the rest started to light the fire under the pot.

 

[I knew about some of the Eastern liquors from before, but this will be my very first time drinking a legitimate sake.]

 

Belfast then looked around her companions, but just like her, no one seemed to have any genuine prior experience with it.

 

[So, what would you like to do now? Open it up and drink it? See what it tastes like?]

 

Renown, who was sitting right next to Repulse, immediately distributed the cups for everyone from the additional tray.

 

[Yes, let’s do just that. Let’s see what it tastes like.]

 

With a slightly uneasy look on her face, Rodney picks up the 1.8 liter bottle and started to open it up.

 

With a slight faint sound, the stopper was pulled out, and then Rodney started to pour the sake into everyone’s cup.

 

[If we start with a small amount like this, it should be okay to drink it, even if you do not find the taste to be entirely to your liking.]

 

When she finally finished pouring it all into the small cups while filling it not even halfway through their maximum volume, the pot that was just warmed up by the fire began to slam its lid vigorously up and down.

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