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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 3 Chapter 1 Part 10

「Yes, that’s right. Actually, about that ——」

Neptune said while showing it to everyone’s eyes.

「——I tried my hand at brewing some tea for today.」

Now, the question was: who was going to drink it first?

It was then, at that time.

It took Neptune a whole lot of time to prepare the tea, since it was an action that she was pretty much unfamiliar with, and she was worried all the time about how it would turn out. But now she was pretty confident that her creation was something that could be shared with everyone else.

—— It’s really the first time I’ve acted like this…

When everyone moved to the table and bench, Neptune nervously opened the lid of the water thermos bottle.

A cup was held out in front of her then.

「Would you like to do me the honor and have a drink of this, Leander-san?」

After hearing Neptune say that, Leander received the cup of tea that was offered to her, which made Neptune feel rather relieved.

「This looks to be rather interesting, so I will definitely have some of it as well. I wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity like this.」

With a twisted way of speaking that she was also interested in Neptune’s tea, Ajax also reached out with her cup towards her.

「I wanted to eat the sweets first, but I guess that having a little drink beforehand is not going to do me any harm. Pour me a cup as well, please!」

When the tea that Neptune prepared was poured into the cups of the three Leander Class Light Cruisers, they all looked at each other and then drank the tea together in unison.

Neptune gently took her own cup towards her mouth as she thought:

—— I knew it. In the end……. I still have quite a long way to go before I will be able to reach the level of “that taste”..

She made that tea with the intention of making everyone happy, but it was quite different from that gentle feeling she could feel from Belfast’s tea.

She was sure everyone would have a slightly different reaction compared to how the tea was prepared back then tasted.

And just as she was thinking like that,,

「Huh? Oh my, this taste is not too bad. I think I like it. No, I might like it a lot, actually.」

Achilles said so in a casual tone.

「It’s a rather strong taste rather than a gentle one. But it’s very delicious nonetheless.」

Leander tasted it too, then put her hand on her cheek in surprise.

「I think it’s slightly too bitter.」.

Ajax said while she stuck her tongue out of her mouth in an improper gesture.

「But there’s a sense of familiarity to it as well, and this isn’t so bad, I guess?」

After making such a subtle judgment that made Neptune quite puzzled because she had no idea if it was a good or bad thing, Ajax took another sip from her cup.

Neptune’s heart sank as she listened to each one’s comments more and more.

—— I knew it…… It was a prudent thing of me to give the tea to those three people first, and treat them like taste testers.

「…… Next time」

Neptune slowly opened her arms and spread them out towards the three Leander Light Cruisers in a sweet gesture. She then said:

「More…… I will make it even more…… it will be more delicious than any tea that you have ever drank before! It will surely make you feel happy!」

Hearing this, Leander chuckled slightly.

「You want to make us even more happy? But we are already happy enough as we are, you know?」

「No, you are not. At least not yet. I will give you the best drink ever after the Pancake Race is over. Then you will be able to say that you are happy.」

There was no lie in her words. Neptune really meant what she was saying.

But how could she possibly make her race partners even happier than they already are at the current moment?

Neptune was looking forward to brewing the best tea ever after repeating the process of trial and error over and over again.

* * *

And then on the actual Pancake Race day.

The sky was clear and cloudless, and the waves Neptune could see from the pier at the Home Port island were very calm and gentle.

「Kuh! My “Eye” is trembling in pain……」

「Huh? Say what? Do you have hay fever or something?」

The two rival racers, Jamaica and Achilles, stood side by side and exchanged such incompatible remarks, as if each one was taking part in a different conversation.

「Welcome, everyone who gathered here today! It would seem that for today’s event we have been blessed with a truly magnificent weather! We couldn’t ask for more!」

As she held the loudspeaker in front of the racers that gathered at the starting line, Elizabeth spoke with a broad smile on her face.

She then whispered some of the instructions to Akashi, who was next to her,

「Now take a look at this!」

And then she held her right hand wide towards the sky.

In the next moment, a huge transmission screen appeared right in front of the racers with a loud electrical sound.

While everyone thought for a moment that this broadcast screen looked really similar to a maritime radar that they all knew all too well,,

「Alright then, without any further ado, let us explain the rules! First of all, the racers should proceed along the designated course on the sea in their outfitted state and head towards the first island checkpoint. There will be many obstacles waiting for you alongside the way, so if you become unable to navigate the waters due to trouble or an accident, you will be disqualified right away.」

In line with the ongoing explanation, the red circle flickering in the middle of the screen moved towards the first island that was designated as the first checkpoint in the race.

「Once you arrive at the first island, you are to go to the beach where the next racer is waiting for you to pass the proverbial baton onto them. In addition, there is going to be a sign that says how many times you have to flip the pancakes with your pan. There will also be someone on site who is going to check if the flipping process is going properly, so I would advise all of you to not even think for a moment about any foul play or fraudulent behavior. Lastly, once the anchor is going to receive the frying pan, they are to sprint back towards the Home Port island with everything you have!」

As the red circle circles around each and every single checkpoint island around the race’s perimeter, it would change its color each time when it would go to the next one, and then it simply returned to its initial position right in the center of the screen.

「This is it! That’s all the explanation that you are going to need! Now get ready and to your very best until the very end!」

When Elizabeth took the loudspeaker from her mouth, she put it down on the nearby table and then she raised her hands in the air, to which everyone gathered erupted in thunderous round of applause.

「—— Umm, okay, listen up because it is really important, nya. For this year’s race we have a whole lot of obstacles ready, nya. Every year we are told to do the same thing that would best emulate the real combat training experience, so I want everyone to do their best, nya. Treat this as an actual combat exercise, nya!」

After Akashi was done saying that, she bowed down her head and then she left the stage.

Finally, a lone Manju came to the center of the stage with a signal gun in its small hands.

「Alright then, let’s get this even started!」

When Elizabeth’s voice echoed all around, the entirety of the first wave of racers braced themselves on the spot.

「Three, two, one…… START!!!」

The “shipgirls” equipped with pancake-filled frying pans then left the Home Port island all at once and went forward at full speed.

At the start, the Destroyers were the first to jump out into the lead and maintain their distance due to their small size and considerable speed. And due to their normal performance, they gradually increased their speed from the beginning in order to widen the gap as much as possible before they would eventually start to fall off.

Achilles, a Light Cruiser, was somewhat ahead of the entire pack of Destroyers right from the start. She managed to maintain her own pace without jumping too far away and losing her strength and momentum.

The one who was slightly behind her was Jamaica.