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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 2 Chapter 4 Part 8

Come to think of it, even after all this time, Edinburgh did not come to see how Belfast was doing, not even once. Which was already strange enough in its own right.

「Edinburgh is too busy to come here right now. That’s all there is to it.」

With a colder tone than her usual voice, Sheffield said so firmly.

I knew it, Bel-chan thought to herself all of a sudden. Something is seriously wrong here. Everyone is acting so strange.

And it was not only about Sheffield just now, but Kent and Suffolk as well. They were all acting completely different from the way they would normally act. Am sensing that something was wrong in here as well, Belfat tried to get up from the bed, looking all aloof.

「Sheffy, did something happen to my sister while I was resting here? Is there something that you are trying to hide from me, or ——」

「—— For now, just think about getting better. You do not need to concern yourself with that.」

In response to Belfast’s inquiry, and seeing that she would not let the matter go and would continue to push it further until she would get the answer that she wanted to hear, Sheffield once again responded with an ice-cold tone of voice and said those words in a way that suggested that it was going to be the end of the discussion, and then left the room at once.

Kent and Suffolk also looked rather apologetic towards Belfast and followed suit right after Sheffield.

「Nee-sama……」

Bel-chan cast a quick glance at Belfast, who was still half-sitting on the bed.

Then, after a moment of silence, the Head Maid let out a deep sigh.

「I’m really sorry, Bel-chan, but I think I’m going to lie down for a little bit again.」

She just said that in a flat tone and she covered herself with her futon all the way to her head.

At first glance, her appearance seemed to look completely normal, and there was nothing out of the ordinary to it..

Or at the very least, that’s what Bel-chan thought at the time.

* * *

Belfast was currently dreaming.

「This place, it’s……」

Before she even knew it, she was standing in front of a large river instead of her dorm room.

「Bel, this way, this way……」

She heard a voice right behind her and turned around to find herself looking right at Edinburgh, who was drinking tea from a small round glass cup.

Belfast approached her with a brisk and lively pace and let out a big sigh at her elder sister once she approached her.

「Where have you been all this time, Nee-san? No one has seen you since the morning, and no one would even tell me anything about it!」

Edinburgh took the teacup off the table and pointed towards the chair that was placed opposite of her.

「Well now, for the time being, how about you take a seat first? Then we can talk about that matter.」

Belfast obediently did what she was told and sat down on the chair.

Edinburgh then put the teacup on the table and smiled brightly at her little sister.

「Hey Bel? Do you happen to remember when was it that we happened to see one another for the very first time?」

「When was it that we first met one another……? The first time…… Wouldn’t it be when I have just arrived at the Home Port for the first time?」

「Well, of course it would have been at that time.」

She remembered it clearly, but she couldn’t quite remember exactly what she was thinking at the time.

Edinburgh thought for a moment before talking to Belfast once more, who was still at a loss for words and trying to recall some details from that period of time..

「When you first happened to arrive at the Home Port, Bel, you were always performing in such a perfect and spotless way that no one knew how to approach you, and you seemed to be turning away from everyone else. Your words and actions were always so elegant and so perfect all the time, but…… Yes, I am sure that at that time you were the only one who’s grace and elegance could be described as the absolute peak of how a Royal Navy’s shipgirl was supposed to behave. But even though you had all that grace and all that elegance…… That is exactly why no one was trying to get to know the real you better, wouldn’t you agree? And that was the reason why you were always on your own.」

「Aaah…… Yes, that’s right. Come to think of it, there was really a time like that in the past.」

Belfast was now finally able to remember.

In addition to all that, at that time, she was that kind of a person who would show no active interest in her fellow “shipgirls” such as Edinburgh whatsoever. Which at the time was all the more weird, since Edinburgh was supposed to be her “sister” ship.

Belfast certainly came a long way from that time, and right now she was no longer a shipgril she used to be.

「And that was exactly why at that time I asked you for a favor, didn’t I?」

「Yes. I remember that part very clearly.」

Belfast answers with a stunned voice after a moment of brief silence. That was actually the origin of that “certain question” that Edinburgh was about to ask of her yesterday.

「However, seeing the way in which you are now, I do not think that we need to have “that question” come to play anymore, wouldn’t you agree? Besides, I think that if after all this time I was unable to squeeze a “Yes” answer out of you, I will never be able to do that.」

「Yes, that’s right. That will never happen. From now on, I am going to keep going straight ahead without looking back.」

「……Why are you being so obsessed about that matter? It’s something I was never able to quite understand.」

「Because of this, I’m sure that you will continue to get along well with those around you, Bel.
Call it a lucky charm if you will, but I think it does its purpose quite well.」

「Seriously? Doing all of that for a matter as small and insignificant as this……?」

Belfast lets out a deep sigh of relief in that very moment.

But from the very beginning, she sure felt that the situation around her was definitely changing for the better.

Even just looking back over the past year, Belfast was able to interact with students in the dormitory who she had never had contact with before. Now, I think that not only the Royal Navy’s Dormitory, but everyone in this Home Port had become irreplaceable people who were close to her heart.

「But if I had to guess, that must have been a trigger for you.」

Edinburgh chuckled and Belfast shrugged her shoulders and shook her head as if she was surrendering here.

「…… But be that as it may, my answer is not going to change. I will keep on saying “No” for as long as you keep on asking me that.」

The words that Edinburgh first said to her when she first came to this Home Port.

And those would be ——

There, all of a sudden, everything in front of Belfast became pitch black in an instant.

* * *

Bell-chan raised her voice as soon as she saw Belfast regaining consciousness.

「I think she is starting to wake up.」

When she looked back at Elizabeth and Warspite who had come to visit her for the second time today, the two of them immediately rushed towards Belfast’s bedside.

「Good morning Bel! I’m here to visit you again!」

「We just finished a meeting and came back here in a hurry. So how’s it going? Are you feeling a little bit better?」

Elizabeth and Warpsite both called out to Belfast alternatively.

Belfast ate the food Sheffield brought her, and she slept all the way through the day, it would seem.

During that time, Bel-chan was taking care of her, replacing the ice in her ice bag and wiping the sweat off of her forehead.

「Belfast-nee-sama…..?」

But it was actually kind of strange.

After opening her eyes, for some reason, Belfast continued to look at one point while lying on his back.

「Bel…… What’s wrong?」

Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows suspiciously.

Belfast suddenly tried to get up from the bed, thinking that she had been asleep for so long, but it wasn’t clear to her just for HOW long she was out.

「Wait a minute! Are you okay to get up all of a sudden like that?」

Elizabeth’s face grew more and more suspicious, and at that point, Belfast opened her mouth to speak up.