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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 10

Just like that, Bel-chan broke the corner at full speed, and what she saw after turning that corner was,

「A-Are you okay, Nee-sama!?」

Belfast was right there, her body leaning against the wall as she was breathing heavily. Seeing her, Bel-chan approached the Head Maid on the double and grabbed her by the hand. And right away Bel-chan realized that Belfast’s hand was way hotter than she could have expected. Her fever may have risen again because he was moving around so flashily and frantically.

「Let’s go back to our room for now, Nee-sama! I’m sure that Edinburgh-nee-sama will be back soon!」

When Bel-chan said those words, Belfast said while coming to a stop and breathing heavily through her mouth.

「Even if I was gone for good, surely you would not even miss me anymore, isn’t that right……?」

「Huh?」

Belfast then looked down at Bel-chan while her breathing was becoming rougher little by little.

「Nee-san…… That is the question that she keeps on asking me from time to time. Even if I am long gone, you won’t be lonely anymore, right?” She’s always saying something like that with a perfectly straight face. But no matter how many times I ask her to stop, she refuses to do so. She says that it is a sort of a good luck charm.」

Belfast lowered her head and her long hair obscured the expression that was painted all over her face.

「It’s something so unbelievably stupid…… I mean, if you are asking someone a question like that and you know exactly how they feel…… shouldn’t it be that you should already know the answer? So what’s the point……?」

Somehow, Belfast was able to get all those words out of her system, even though she was always making sure to keep them all bottled-up inside.

「Nee-sama, what is that……」

It was at that moment that Bel-chan pointed with her finger at the glass door leading to the inner courtyard.

Bel-chan slowly pulled Belfast’s hand and the two approached the glass door together.

「Just what in the world is that supposed to be ——」

Even if the view was partially obscured here because of the glass door, Bel-chan could not believe her eyes.

In the inner courtyard, all of the maids of the Maid Corps were gathered.

Besides that, many other students from the dormitory were gathered there as well.

Wondering what’s going on, Bel-chan opened the glass door and stepped into the inner courtyard.

Then, around the round table in the back of the courtyard, she noticed a silver-haired girl pointing out her finger at the maids who were hard at work all over the place.

「……Ahh. We have been so busy preparing for this event…… But, I guess it cannot be helped. Shall I bring her some delicious tea later, I wonder?」

Hearing that voice, Belfast, who was right next to Bel-chan, involuntarily opens her mouth and spoke up.

「……Nee-san?」

Hearing Belfast’s voice, the silver-haired girl slowly turned around.

「—— Huh? B-Bel!? And even Bell-chan!?」

The silver-haired girl, Edinburgh, then touched the rim of her glasses in shock, as she stared at the faces of the two that just arrived in the courtyard.

Bel-chan then looked around her surroundings.

The courtyard was filled with lights everywhere, from the plants to the tea party chairs. There were also electric lights everywhere, and it must have been their light that Bel-chan saw leaking outside of the courtyard and into the corridor.

But the thing that seemed to be the weirdest here to Bel-chan was the fact that all of the decorations were halfway through being taken down. Yes, the maids were not setting them up, quite the opposite. They were taking them down.

It was as if they were working to clean up after a party that just ended..

「What…… What were you guys even doing here?」

Edinburgh shook her head when she heard Belfast’s question.

「No! That’s not it! This isn’t what you think! It was only a rehearsal before the real thing……」

「Before the real thing……?」

Edinburgh held her head and twisted her body seeing that both Belfast and Bel-chan apparently did not understand what was going on here.

「Aaahhh, goodness gracious…… How could both of you manage to forget something as important as that!?」

And then she let out a big and deep sigh, and eventually she gave up and addressed both of the newly arrived maids.

「Today is March 17th, you know? And since both of you seemed to forget…… Bel and Bel-chan, today is your birthday.」

* * *

At that moment, Belfast could feel like all of the power and strength was leaving her body.

It was just then, at that precise moment that Foxhound and Fortune took the worst possible moment in order to come in between Belfast and Edinburgh. Both of them were holding a big sign in their hands, and when Edinburgh saw them both, she called out to them right away.

「You two, can you come here for a moment? I want you to show that sign to Bel.」

「Huh? Can we? Is that really okay?」

Foxhound was a little hesitant to do so, but Edinburgh told her to show the front side of the sign to Belfast anyway. On that sign, it was written in bold and colorful letters: “Belfast and Bel-chan, happy birthday!”

「—— Ah! I knew it! I knew that you would be around here somewhere!」

Everyone heard a voice coming from behind their backs and turned around to see Queen Elizabeth standing behind them with a pouting face. Behind her there was Warspite, Sheffield, Kent and Suffolk.

Elizabeth stomped on her feet as she came up to Belfast, and she yelled at her with a terrific ferocity.

「I gave you a direct order! And you said that you would behave! If you can’t listen to Her Majesty the Queen, then you are disqualified from the Royal Navy —— from here on out you are being demoted from the position of the Head Maid!」

Warspite immediately tried to appease Elizabeth and tried to calm her down.

「P-Please calm down, Your Majesty! Belfast came out of the room through the window instead of the corridor, so technically speaking she did not violate your order!」

「I won’t be deceived by something like that, so let go of me right this instant, Warspite!」」

Belfast knelt down and said to Elizabeth, whose anger could not be contained at this very moment.

「I am most terribly sorry for all of this ——」

At that moment, Belfast felt dizzy and put her hands on the ground in order to keep her balance and prevent herself from falling down.

「Bel!!」

「Belfast-nee-sama!」

In a hurry, Edinburgh and Bel-chan ran to her side and supported Belfast’s body.

「I’m sorry, everyone, but I am fine, really. I just felt a little bit dizzy, that is all……」

Edinburgh let out another deep sigh of exasperation as she said her next words with a faint smile, trying her best not to sound worried.

「…… Goodness gracious, if you are sick like that, you should have just rested quietly for the day, you know that, don’t you?」

「T-This is because…… about Nee-san…… Umm……」

For a moment out there, Belfast slightly hesitated.

「That’s because I was really worried about you, Nee-san……」

「You were worried about me? Why, though? What are you talking about?」

Seeing just how confused Edinburgh has become from hearing those words, Belfast touched her own forehead to see her own temperature.

Her forehead was hot. So very hot. Surely, it must have been because her fever made a return with even greater tenacity than before.

「…… It’s nothing. Nothing, really. It’s just that yesterday ——」

「Yesterday what……?」

Right in front of Edinburgh, who did not seem to understand what her younger sister was talking about, Belfast said those words again:

「“Even if I’m gone for long or for good, you won’t miss me anymore……”, isn’t that right, Nee-san?」

「Ahh! You see, this! This right here…… What is it, Bel? Don’t tell me that you were feeling lonely and you were missing me so much that ——」

At that moment, Belfast tightly embraced Edinburgh’s body.

「This is…… That is —— This is surely not the case here! It’s not that I was feeling lonely, but……」

Belfast somehow managed to say that in a hoarse voice.

However, she felt as though her entire throat was about to clog up from all the pent-up emotions that were swelling inside of her chest.

「Please, don’tyou ever do this kind of stupid thing again…… I was worried…… I was so worried about you, you can’t even imagine……」

「……Bel.」

At that point, Edinburgh also gently embraces Belfast’s warm body.

「Nee-san, and since today is my birthday…… There is one thing I would like to tell you. And I want you to listen to me well.」

Edinburgh nodded even though he was confused for a moment.

「Yeah, okay…… No matter what it is, I am going to listen to it properly.」

Belfast, her face still flushed with high fever, tightly embraced Edinburgh’s body.

Then, when she gently brought her face closer, Belfast muttered softly in a voice that no one else could possibly hear right now.

「Please…… JUst like this. Stay with me like this for the rest of the day.」

Towards her very important and irreplaceable elder sister, Belfast tried to make such a request that was sincerely coming from the bottom of her heart.

And as for this Home Port itself where her beloved sister was always waiting for her.

It was an irreplaceable place that Belfast never wanted to lose, no matter what.