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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 2 Chapter 1 Part 7

PART 7

Newcastle paused for a moment, and then she faced Belfast.

[Yes, about that……]

When Belfast briefly explained the situation to Newcastle, she then cast a brief glance at the novice maid, before she looked back at Belfast and slowly shook her head in negation.

[The two of us were hanging out the freshly washed sheets here to dry all this time…… And I assure you that neither of us left our post during that time.]

Listening to Newcastle’s words, Belfast then carefully thought for a moment.

There was no way that Newcastle could be the candy thief. And Belfast was sure of it, even more than anything in this world. In the first place, Newcastle was not the type who would act in a malicious way just so that she could actively mess with someone.

And that was also creating an alibi for the novice maid that was helping Newcastle here. Because it would be impossible for a complete rookie to sneak out undetected from under the former Head Maid’s watchful gaze and commit a crime like that.

[–––––– Thank you very much for your time.]

Belfast then politely bowed down to the former Head Maid and the novice maid.

At this point, she had already heard the testimonies of all the maids that she had planned to hear.

And just as she was about to head back to the kitchen,

[…… By the way, Belfast? There’s something I would like to ask you: do you think that there are thieves amongst the ranks of the Royal Maids?]

All of a sudden, Newcastle asked Belfast an outrageous question like that.

[No way. It’s impossible.]

Belfast responded immediately to that question, without any hesitation.

[And I have never even suggested it myself that such a thing might be the case here.]

Rather, it was never the case that Belfast was suspicious of any member of the Maid Corps in the first place.

This whole inquiry escapade was only to prove that none of the maids were at fault here. That this entire situation was one huge misunderstanding and false accusations.

And just as she was about to say that to Newcastle, the former Head Maid laughed quietly.

[That’s actually a very “you” kind of answer to give.]

At that point in time Belfast, who seemed to be thinking about something for a while now, suddenly mentioned a completely different possibility that was on her mind.

[Since it’s Halloween today, it is not entirely implausible that some of the children might have tried to dress up as maids for the occasion.]

Certainly, it could have been one way to explain things. However, that particular thought would give birth to another question almost right away, one that couldn’t be brushed aside all that easily.

–––––– Who would want to dress up as a maid for Halloween? No matter how you look at it, a ghost costume would have been way more appropriate for the occasion.

There was also a possibility of a ghost or apparition being at work here, but Belfast knew it better than anyone else that entertaining such fickle thoughts was a huge waste of one’s time and energy.

[……Come to think of it, there used to be a strange rumor about a “Ghost Maid” that used to circulate around the Home Port some time ago.]

But all of a sudden, Newcastle said something so incomprehensible and so utterly ridiculous that Belfast’s eyes widened in surprise.

[A ghost…… maid, you say?]

* * *

Since Belfast’s group had already finished their inquiries with every single maid that was supposed to be on the cleaning duty, they decided to come back to the kitchen and sum up what they had learned there.

Seeing that Belfast came back from her excursion, Edinburgh came towards her while adjusting the glasses on top of her nose.

[We have gone to see if anyone on the cleaning duty would know anything about the candy theft, but unfortunately no one seemed to notice anything suspicious. In the first place, it looks like everyone involved in the cleaning outside of the kitchen has a strong alibi, so it might actually be impossible to pinpoint the culprit that way.]

[And how was your investigation, Belfast-nee-sama?]

Bel-chan asked that question while striking a cute pose, placing her index finger on her chin.

[I’m afraid that we are also returning empty-handed. Everyone seems to have an alibi, and no one saw any maid that was leaving her post or was in a place that she wasn’t supposed to be.]

[That being said, we cannot actually completely rule out the possibility that someone might be lying to us, but……]

As she said that, Sheffield gently traced the edge of the window with her finger, blowing the wisps of dust off her fingertips after some of them managed to accumulate there.

[For example, the maids might be perfectly aware of who the culprit is, but they are choosing to feign ignorance to avoid being dubbed as co-culprits or they do not want to see one of their friends get punished…… However, even though I’m the one who said that, please bear in mind that I do not want to believe that myself. Although……]

[Why? We know practically nothing about the culprit and their motive, but why would someone even want to do that in the first place?]

Faced with Kent’s question, Sheffield raised her index finger and swung it in a circle in one swift motion.

[Foxhound and Fortune said that they had more candy on their hands than they could handle, right? If we are going to take that fact into account, there are not all that many places in the shared cleaning areas that could handle storing so much candy all at once.]

[Okay, but if we assume that maybe one of the other girls did steal the candy, couldn’t they just bring it all back to their room? Or spread the candy between a few hiding places?]

[Perhaps the culprit was unable to do that, either.]

Belfast, in turn, denied Suffolk’s suspicions with an utmost conviction.

[If you really wanted to raid every single dorm room, in order to do that you would need to get past every single maid that is working on cleaning on each floor. And that is without taking into account that the room of the perpetrator might be on the floor that is different from the ones that are being cleaned right now.]

[Well then, what about the possibility of stashing the stolen candy somewhere outside? –––––– But wait, yeah. That also seems to be a little bit……]

Edinburgh seemed to have realized that such a method would prove to be extremely time inefficient, but before she could say anything more, it was Belfast who actually replied to that question.

[There are always maids who are working around the entrance to the dormitory. And even if someone was trying to go out through the window, it’s the middle of Halloween today, so there are no blind spots around the area because both the inside and the outside of the building are full of people. Also, the rooms that are not currently in use are locked away tightly, so it’s impossible to stack anything there.]

[Then, does that mean that you think that there are no actual thieves amongst the members of the Maid Corps?]

Listening very intently to that conversation, Foxhound then voiced her concerns out loud with a genuine suspicion in her voice.

[But then, if the thief that we saw was not one of the maids, then who the hell was that!?]

[Yes, actually, about that very matter.]

After saying those words, Belfast looked at everyone present in the kitchen, as if trying to make sure that she’s got their undivided attention.

[Do you happen to know anything about the Ghost Maid who just so happens to inhabit this very Home Port island?]

[A ghost…… maid?]

Fortune opened her mouth wide with a dumbfounded expression written all over her face.

But it was not only Fortune. Right now, there were literal question marks floating above everyone’s heads, not knowing what Belfast was actually talking about.

[I just happened to hear about it not so long ago. The person who heard about it also said that she didn’t know much about it because it was an old rumor or an urban legend circulating around the Home Port……]

Since the time was as good as any right about now, Belfast figured out that she might as well fill the rest of the maids in on what she has heard from Newcastle.

And it was at that time that Belfast saw a portion of a shadow that moved just at the edge of Belfast’s field of vision.

It was the tiniest snippet of a shadow, and she caught a glimpse of it just under the nearby table. And when she glanced over the table, there was only a sugar jar there and a burnt sponge, but that was it.