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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 3 Chapter 2 Part 11

Belfast, who was watching this casual exchange between the two maids until just now, decided to help Edinburgh and the two of them started clearing the cupboards together.

* * *

The next day, and the day after that, the time was slowly going forward, but Suffolk’s memory did not return. And there was no sign that it would return anytime soon.

Kent, who continued to take care of the flower bed every morning, had learned various things from Aurora in the meantime, and was now able to do all of the necessary work around the courtyard completely by herself.

However, on the other hand, while she was doing a very good job at it, she also looked incredibly lonely.

As for why that was, the reason was perfectly clear here.

「Suffolk’s memory…… It does not seem to be coming back at all.」

Edinburgh muttered those words while sipping on a freshly brewed cup of tea.

Belfast brewed tea for Edinburgh and Bel-chan during the brief break right before the afternoon’s regular work was about to be over and preparations for dinner would begin in earnest.

「Every time I see Kent so depressed like that, I just wish that there was something that we could do in order to get her back up on her feet again.」

Beside Edinburgh, Bel-chan raised her face as she cooled down her tea by repeatedly blowing air on it from her mouth.

「But still, why is it that Kent-san feels so down in the first place?」

「They seemed to have had a bit of a fight just before Suffolk happened to lose her memories.」

With that being said, Belfast was flipping through some books that Edinburgh recommended to her after that series of unfortunate happenings inside of the still room. She was flipping through its pages over and over again, until she finally closed the book as if she had been able to check all the information that she wanted to check, and then she opened yet another book and she started the whole process all over again from scratch.

「I am sure that Kent blames herself for the fact that Suffolk has lost her memory. She surely thinks that this all happened because they failed to reconcile after their fight. And I am sure that she must be filled with remorse as to why she said all those things to her the moment she did.」

「So that’s what it is all about, huh……?」

After hearing that, both Edinburgh and Bel-chan could only hang their heads and look down, their mood visibly worsened.

「However, no matter how much we look for a way to restore Suffolk’s memory back to normal, we can’t seem to find anything useful…… I guess that the only thing that can truly fix this issue is going to be time itself……」

「Well, I mean, not that there are any certain methods of restoring lost memory…… Or not that we actually know of their existence……」

Then, Belfast quietly placed her cup of tea back on top of the table and looked up towards the sky.

「——Is it possible for us to actually advance the hands of time?」

Hearing those words, both Edinburgh and Belle made a strange expression as they looked at one another.

「…… What do you mean by that, Bel?」

「Do you want to advance some needle or something like that?」

Belfast then cast a glance at her wristwatch and stood up from her chair.

「Both of you, if you would please follow after me.」

Saying that, Belfast headed for the back door leading out the kitchen. As she went outside and walked out of the kitchen, Belfast began to explain the meaning of her words to her two sisters that were following closely behind her.

「Today, when I saw the books that Nee-san recommended to me after the still room incident, there was a certain conviction that grew stronger and stronger inside of me.」

「A conviction?」

「Yes. It is something that is connected with the inventory check that was done just the other day. I had a lingering suspicion that something just wasn’t right with it.」

The initial impetus for that was a consultation that Belfast had with Neptune just the other day.

She was the one who would go into the Still Room the most in order to make sweets and cakes.

She had repeatedly asked Belfast to increase the amount of fresh cream she purchased each time, for it was always running out in no time at all.

「Even though the amount of whipped cream to be used in desserts is properly calculated and carefully selected each time, according to the ledger kept by Suffolk, for some reason the amount consumed was way too high.」

「Hmm, is that so?」

Putting her finger on her chin, Bel-chan tilted her head slightly.

「Does that mean that someone is making snacks in secret from everyone else?」

「Yes, that’s right. That’s exactly right, Bel-chan. However, the amount consumed has decreased in the last few days, just as it should.」

Belfast smiled and turned around, then faced forward again and started walking with even more vigor in her step.

「However, when I looked at the bookkeeping records from the day before yesterday, the consumption of fresh cream had increased significantly once again. There is only one possible explanation for that situation taking place.」

「Ah! No way! You don’t mean that……」

When Edinburgh looked up all of a sudden as if she had come to some sort of a realization, Belfast was already grasping the knob of the door leading into the Still Room.

「Now then, let us go right in and meet our culprit ——」

And when Belfast would go into the Still Room, all three of them could see various desserts for dinner lined up on top of the cooking table right in front of them.

In the back of the room, there was a girl in a maid outfit crouching with her back facing the three maids that just got into the room.

「Hmm, it’s so very sweet~~!」

Belfast then spoke to the maid in question with an upbeat and happy voice, as the maid did not even notice that someone entered the room and that the Head Maid was standing right behind her at the current moment.

「—— You sound like you are having an awful lot of fun right there, isn’t that right, Suffolk?」

「Huh!?」

After Suffolk jolted up while wiping her mouth with a cloth, she turned around slowly and cautiously.

「W-Whatever do you mean by that, Head Maid? Ohohohohoho……」

「You can’t really hide your turmoil, can you? Besides, your tone sounds rather strange, wouldn’t you agree?」

Furthermore, there was still some fresh cream clinging to the bowl that Suffolk was holding in her hands.

「The first thing that struck me as suspicious was right after the commotion the day before yesterday. When Kent handed you that scrunchie, you seemed to largely ignore it.」

「Ah…… Um…… This is…… Y-yeah.」

「Could it be that you have regained your memory the other day?」

「N-no…… I mean, ehehe.」

「So, it all came back to you, right?」

「Uuuhhh~.」

Suffolk tried to make some more excuses on the spot, but before she was able to do that, Belfast cut her short with a relentless pursuit of questions.

Finally, looking all resigned to her fate, Suffolk turned her body toward the three maids, and fell down on the spot with all her might, assuming a groveling position.

「I’m sorry~~~~~~…………」

Seeing this blatant display of how sorry Suffolk felt, bashing her head repeatedly into the ground, the three maids could not even hide their own surprise.

「Whoa, so you really remembered everything back, huh…… But then, why did you stay silent about it all this time?」

「Well…… I mean, everyone was very considerate and kind to me because I had amnesia. And that is why, when my memories came back to me…… It was really hard for me to actually admit it.」

「Well, that kind of behavior was certainly even more considerate of you than that of the usual Suffolk-san!」

Bel-chan could only nod her head softly here.

「R-right? It’s something that’s so important to me that I just missed the right time to say it……」

Seeing the relieved Suffolk, Belfast let out a long and deep sigh of exasperation.

「…… I guess that Suffolk’s habits are still the same, even after all this. But don’t you feel bad for Kent, for once?」

「T-This is……」

「She looked to be so lonely all the time recently, and on top of it all, it seems like she is blaming herself for your accident.」

Hearing Belfast’s words, Suffolk lowered her head in shame.

「I’m really sorry…… but even when my memory came back…… we still haven’t made up.」

Besides, she clenched her fists tightly.