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

CHAPTER 2: The Christmas Worries

Since ancient times, the waters surrounding this Home Port have been famous for having a great number of islands scattered all over the place.

The number of islands is actually more than seven hundred, according to the latest research. If you include those whose perimeter is less than one hundred meters, that number would go even higher.

Those who know the exact number are at least none of the shipgirls currently living in this Home Port. So it was actually no surprise that every time someone would discover a new island during military operations or standard commissions, that matter would instantly become a topic of rumors circulating all over the Academy’s grounds.

In particular, a certain uninhabited island that was just recently discovered this summer made many shipgirls’ hearts flutter with the sight of beautiful coral reefs that were present there.

The one who found such a beautiful uninhabited island with coral reefs was none other than a member of the Royal Navy’s faction, which only made that camp exceptionally proud of this discovery.

「–––––– Your Majesty, this is the uninhabited island in question that I was able to discover.」

The Queen Elizabeth Class Battleship Warspite pointed to an island with a sandy beach in the distance and smiled at Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, who was advancing right next to her in the same way.

The reason why the two of them decided to go there was very simple, actually.

That day, the mission at the Naval Port, on which Warspite happened to be accompanying some other shipgirls, ended earlier than expected. And right after that, it was a matter of: “Hey, come to think of it, I’d like to go to the uninhabited island you said you just happened to find”.

Queen Elizabeth suddenly said so.

Luckily, the uninhabited island wasn’t too far from the Home Port.

Even Warspite didn’t have any errands that required her to return to the Home Port early, so she decided that there would be no harm in taking Elizabeth there.

And she did just that: Warspite decided to take Her Majesty to that uninhabited island without even questioning her reasons for wanting to go.

As the two reached the uninhabited island, Elizabeth looked back in the direction that they happened to come from.

「It’s really close to the Home Port, huh? How come that no one managed to find out about it until now?」

「It just so happens that as per normal return route to the Home Port, this island and its position is a complete blind spot.」

While talking about such things, the two of them walked along the shallows until they reached the sandy beach.

「So! Where’s that coral reef?」

「Actually, that place is on the opposite side of the coast where there are lots of scattered coral reefs.」

「Hmm, is that so? But since this seems to be a really small island, we can just walk there no problem.」

Just then, Elizabeth suddenly came to a stop on the spot.

「But don’t you think that this coast here is also a great location? Hmm, Warspite?」

As she held her hand up towards the blazing sunshine, Elizabeth squinted her eyes and smiled at the wide ocean visible from the beach.

「Coral reefs are nice and all, but I also love this place!」

Listening to Her Majesty’s words, Warspite became extremely happy for some reason.

「I-Is that so…… You really think that, Your Majesty?」

Right about now Warspite was so excited that she wanted to pump her fists up and down in a gesture of pure and unadulterated joy.

For all that she understood, Elizabeth wanted to come here because she heard about the coral reefs and a shore on the opposite side of the island. And that was honestly it. But Warspite understood all that clearly, because upon seeing it for the first time her feelings were exactly the same.

But seeing Elizabeth so content with this location, nothing could possibly make Warspite feel happier for the moment.

–––––– As expected of Her Majesty! It was no surprise that this place would be so much to her liking!

It was a white sandy beach with clear water as far as the eye could see.

The huge granite rocks that could be seen on the western side of the beach had become a sea cliff that has been eroded by waves over the years, and you could see a spectacular sunset from the sandy beach if you were to wait long enough.

For Warspite, this place was nothing short of paradise, a place that anyone would come to adore in no time at all.

From the moment she first found this island, she thought that the scenery was much better than the one around the coral reefs. However, she was unable to explain the charm of the island well to others, so when she tried to explain it to someone in earnest, they would only say something along the lines of: “Oh, how nice! An uninhabited island with beautiful coral reefs!”.

「For Your Majesty to be able to understand the appeal of this place right from the get go…… That is the greatest form of honor that I could have hoped for.」

Once again Warspite thought he had done the right thing by bringing Queen Elizabeth here in the first place.

Ever since she found the uninhabited island, she had always wanted to have it all to herself. Children who heard the rumors and came to the island should not know about this place because they were so distracted by the coral reefs on the other side of it.

In other words, at that exact moment, this was a special place that only the two of them knew about and would have it all to themselves.

That fact alone was the ultimate source of pride and joy for Warspite.

「Y-Your Majesty. I-If you would like, then from now on, m-maybe we could…… here, together……」

Warspite’s heart was pounding so hard that she was afraid it might actually burst out of her chest.

–––––– Would you like to take a break together with me in the shade of that Casuarina tree over there?

Warspite really wanted to say those words out loud, but she just realized that she clearly lacked the courage to do so.

She also wanted to add something along the lines of: “I-If you would like, Y-Your Majesty, y-you could even rest your head on top of my l-lap!” However, at this rate, even after a hundred years she would be unable to deliver a corny line like that without stuttering and with a perfectly straight face.

「Y-Your Majesty, m-my lap…… how about……」

Just when she thought that he would finally be able to say it, something else ended up happening.

「Oh yeah! That’s right!」

「Huh?」

Elizabeth suddenly clapped her hands together as if remembering something important, and Warspite let out a surprised sound out of her mouth like that.

Elizabeth then began to rummage around her dress’s pockets in search of something,

「You see, I actually completely forgot that I had that thing in me, and I was waiting for the right opportunity to use it for quite some time now!」

Saying that, she took out a set of soap bubbles with a triumphant look on her face.

「……A soap bubbles, Your Majesty?」

「Exactly.」

「Why would you even carry something like that on you, Your Majesty?」

「You see, when I happen to be busy with all the paperwork and I want to take a break, I often just open the window and blow some soap bubbles in the air like that. With this, it’s pretty easy to get distracted and refreshed at the same time. I’ll lend some to you as well, Warspite.」

Just as she told, Elizabeth handed Warspite a tube of soap bubbles.

「I wonder if this area is going to be the right place for it? Now, come over here and let’s find out!」

Elizabeth sat down on the beach where the waves were slowly crashing onto the shore, and she tapped the sand right next to her as if urging Warspite to join her.

Warspite obediently obeyed the command and sat down right next to Elizabrth.

「Alright, Warspite! You go first and inflate it as hard as you possibly can!」

「Huh? You want me to go first, Your Majesty?」

「We’ll have a showdown to see who can make a bigger bubble! I’ll even let you go first as a handicap!」

A confrontation using soap bubbles. Warspite, who wanted to spend a relaxing time just together with Elizabeth, felt a little disappointed by this development, but she quickly got over it.

Since she was going to do it, she wanted to do her best and enjoy it to the fullest.

So she immediately dipped the hollow straw into the soap solution inside of the tube.

「Is that… right? Am I doing it right?」

「It doesn’t really matter how you do it. There is more than one way to go about it.」