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

CHAPTER 1: Neptune

The Royal Navy’s Dormitory stands on top of a small hill on the west side of the Home Port island.

The sight of a girl wearing a maid uniform and an apron dress walking down the corridor with the sound of her heels ringing across it was exceptionally beautiful, and her expression that was looking straight ahead was full of self-confidence.

Her hair was as blue as the clear ocean, her big eyes and her white skin were positively shining, and she had long legs that stretched out from her skirt.

All of those characteristics and features were so attractive and dazzling.

As for that particular shipgirl, she had a certain ambition.

And that ambition was to serve as a waitress at the annual Royal Navy’s Tea Party.

When such highly esteemed figures such as Queen Elizabeth and Hood would gather there, she wanted to serve them her proud homemade sweets.

Of course, she did not want that to be a one time occurrence. She always wanted to be present at that party, from now on.

「—— Usually only the girls from the Maid Corps are delegated to serve there. That’s a little bit too much, if you were to ask me.」

When the shipgirl stopped in front of a certain office, she brushed her hair off her shoulders and muttered those words with a smile on her face.

The name of that shipgirl was Neptune.

She was one of the Light Cruisers belonging to the Royal Navy faction, and in addition she was a so-called Blueprint Ship.

And even though she was wearing clothes that made her look like a maid, she was not actually a part of the Maid Corps. This was a common point for various misunderstandings.

She was just a “waitress” who loved making sweets above all else.

But that’s why she also had her own pride as a waitress, a pride that was entirely different from that of a maid’s.

Every year when the weather warms up, the tea party at the Royal Navy’s Dormitory is held in the inner courtyard.

Working as a waitress with a warm and cheerful smile on a grandiose event like that, isn’t it just like a vision from a beautiful painting?

「To think that a gorgeous and wonderful place during such a marvelous occasion would lack someone such as myself in it, it’s simply preposterous!」

When it comes to Neptune, she really wanted to become a part of that beautiful painting that she was picturing inside of her mind.

No, it’s not like she wanted to do so, she KNEW that she would become a part of it.

And she WOULD become a part of it for this year. There was no other way for her. And she would do absolutely anything to make that happen.

「For someone like me to serve, only the most spectacular of all seats is the right place to do so!」

That’s why Neptune came to this particular office today, thinking of “a certain strategy” that she was going to use.

Immediately she knocked twice on the entrance door.

「Come on in, it’s open.」

Immediately, a voice came back from the other side of the door.

When she grabbed the door knob and pushed the door open, Neptune could see a grid-like window that reached all the way from the floor to the ceiling at the back of the room, right in front of her.

As she slowly lowered her gaze along the thick red curtains, she caught sight of a large amount of documents piled up on a spacious work desk in the center of the room.

「Please excuse me for this sudden visit.」

Even if the owner of the room could not be seen for the time being, Neptune still politely bowed her head as she went inside.

She also pushes the wagon cart that she has prepared in advance onto the carpet in middle of the room.

Then she peeped out from behind the tunnel-like hole between the stacks of papers that were cluttering the whole desk.

「I’m still in the middle of going through my paperwork, so forgive me for not stopping with that. What happened all of a sudden? For you to pay me a visit like that?」

The owner of this room was the one and only Queen Elizabeth, the Battleship of the Queen Elizabeth Class, the very same Queen Elizabeth who not only was leading the Royal Navy’s faction, but was also a popular and esteemed figure back at the British Islands. She was the one to whom everyone in the Royal Navy was looking up to, and who was an idol for the shipgirls living in the Royal Navy’s dormitory. That Queen Elizabeth was now peeking out with her brilliantly sparkling eyes from behind the mountain of paperwork, looking at Neptune who just came to her.

Despite her childish appearance, the small crown that shone above her head reminded everyone that her height had nothing to do with just how grand she really was. It was also a clear indication of her status inside of the Royal Navy.

Neptune smiles softly and bowed her head down to Elizabeth once more.

「Your Majesty, since I have heard that today you were especially busy, I thought that I would deliver some sweets to you directly.」

「Are you serious!?」

Elizabeth said so in a tremendously excited voice, immediately leaving her seat behind the desk and coming towards the reception table, completely paying no mind at all to the stacks of papers that swayed atop of her desk, threatening to fall over to the ground and scatter in mid-air at any moment now.

「As expected of you, Neptune! Isn’t that awfully nice of you!」

Ignoring her manners, Elizabeth sank into the sofa in front of the table in the most nonchalant way possible.

—— So far, it would seem that Neptune’s strategy was proving to be a great success.

With that in mind, Neptune picked up the tings that were filling the entire space of the serving cart..

「I was just thinking that I might actually use some rest right about now. So, what goods in particular did you bring me today?」

The first thing that Neptune put on the coffee table was a three-tiered cake stand.

「Wah… this looks so delicious!」

Elizabeth let out a short gast with her eyes positively sparkling.

There was a cheesecake, there was a shortcake, and there was a chocolate cake all lined up on the plates of the cake stand from top to bottom.

「But wait, Your Majesty, that’s not all.」

Saying that, Neptune took out an additional cake stand and placed it subsequently on top of the table. The line-up consisted of fruit cake, eccles cake, and carrot cake respectively from top to bottom.

「There are still more.」

And then there was a turn for scones, summer pudding and ice cream. Elizabeth’s face, which had been covered with piles of papers earlier, was now covered with piles of sweets in an instant.

「Today, I have prepared many different kinds of sweets for you to try out, Your Majesty.」

「Y-yeah, I can clearly see……」

Elizabeth for some reason seemed to be at a loss for words.

「Do you find them to your liking, Your Majesty?」

「Umm, yeah…… I’m really happy, but, you know? There is no way that I can eat so much cake by myself.」

Confused by the amount of sweets she clearly did not expect, Elizabeth lifted her face.

Neptune quickly put the round tray in her left hand back on the cart and turned herself around to face Elizabeth.

「You don’t have to eat them all at once, Your Majesty. So rest assured. The cake is not going anywhere. For now, just pick whatever you would really like to eat.」

Neptune spread her arms out to the pile of sweets on the reception table.

「Well, that’s actually true, I guess.」

Then what could be heard in the room was the sound of Elizabeth swallowing her saliva hard.

「Choosing only what you like from among the many sweets and eating as many as you want…… don’t you think that’s the happiest and supreme form of spending your free time, Your Majesty?」

「I’m not going to object to that, but if you eat sweets to your heart’s content, you’ll get fat in no time at all ——」

「Oh yes, that’s right, Your Majesty. I also have parkin here. I almost forgot about it. 」

「Parkin, you say!? I love parkin!!」

In an instant, Elizabeth threw the calorie count out the window and almost jumped in joy.

By the way, pakin is a traditional Royal Navy’s sweet made from oatmeal, wheat flour, molasses, and prawn sugar, and baked with a moist texture.

「You must be tired from the long paperwork, so please don’t hesitate to eat more and more. Seeing Her Majesty’s happy face is what makes me happy as well.」