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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 3 Chapter 2 Part 4

「We are talking about Avrora, the Light Cruiser of the Arethusa Class. She is the one responsible for growing and caring about various kinds of roses across the entire courtyard.」

Hearing that name made Kent try to imagine the shipgirl herself, and she had certainly seen her in the courtyard many times before, albeit from the window. She had the image of a gentle and kind woman to that name for sure.

「Certainly if you want her to oversee the work of those two…… I can see it actually working just about right.」

Belfast said that and then looked towards Kent, who was involuntarily leaning more and more forward on her chair.

「No, wait a minute, it would be best to check everything beforehand, before we make any kind of decision.」

As Kent wondered what was actually going on right here, it was then then Belfast’s gaze shifted from Kent to the one who was sound asleep right next to her without a single care in the world..

「…… Oh my? Suffolk? Are you perhaps sleeping?」

「HUEH!?」

At that moment Kent was shocked. She glanced sideways and saw that Suffolk was so deeply asleep that she was about to fall off of her chair any moment now.

「…… Suffolk! Hey, Suffolk! Wake up! Wake the hell up, Suffolk!」

Even though she tried to call out to her in a hushed voice many times now, Suffolk just refused to wake up.

「Oh my, she is asleep, isn’t she?」

Belfast rose her voice in apparent exasperation.

「NO! No, she is not! Not at all! Ahaha!」

At that exact moment, Kent also managed to notice something: the fact that Curlew was glaring at the two of them really intensely from the front rows of chairs, probably knowing what was up.

「Well, this is really bad…… 」

Kent could not help herself but to think that way. If the Ceres Class Light Cruisers and the Head Maid were to find out that Suffolk was seriously hard asleep here, they might get severely punished for that, Not to mention that Ceres Class Light Cruisers would most probably report to the Head Maid about that mopping incident from earlier.

And if that was to happen here, not only would the two of them be denied the opportunity of taking care of the flower bed, but they would also get punished even more severely here.

「I-I have to deceive them somehow, and I must do it fast……!」

Immediately after that Kent placed her right hand behind Suffolk’s head and tilted her face up, while at the same time she used her left hand to lift Suffolk’s arm from behind and swung it at Belfast, as if she was waving at the Head Maid.

「Yes! Yes! Suffolk also wants to grow some flowers alongside Kent!」

「Is everything alright, Suffolk? You seem to be moving rather awkwardly.」

「O-Oh, n-no she’s not! And you are most certainly awake, right, Suffolk? Right?」

「…… Fumiyuh.」

And just at the most unfortunate moment here, Suffolk’s neck fell in front of her with a loud snap, as Kent was unable to properly support her.

Belfast stared at Kent and Suffolk with a worried expression on her face for a good while. Edinburgh did the same, but it was her who opened her mouth first in an attempt at breaking the awkward silence that filled the entire room at the current moment.

「W-Well, the two of you seem to be really good friends, and besides, Aurora-san is also going to be there, so even if something is going to go wrong, or will seem to be not the way it is supposed to be, it should be alright. As long as you consult each other, right?」

「I-Is that so?」

Looking reluctantly at Edinburgh, Belfast then turned her head towards Kent and asked her one last time for a final confirmation.

「Are you really sure that you are okay with undertaking this task?」

「OK! Just leave it all to us and be amazed!」

When Belfast heard Kent proclaim that with utmost confidence, she seemed to finally be convinced and ultimately gave in.

「…… Understood. From tomorrow onwards, I will entrust the two of you to be in charge of the flower beds in the courtyard. I will let Aurora-san know about this as well, so that she will be able to take care of the two of you and help you as needed.」

The Head Maid then paused for a little bit, and then added:

「If at any moment you are going to think that it’s impossible and that you cannot do it, please let me know right away. Also, you will be starting you new duties tomorrow early in the morning.」

And with that, the meeting was concluded.

A few hours later, both Kent and Suffolk came to the public bath in the Royal Navy’s dormitory.

「Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!? You roped us into becoming the caretaker of the flower beds!?」

Suffolk, who had been immersed in the bathtub almost all the way through, stood up while screaming in shock as soon as she heard Kent’s brief summary of the kitchen meeting.

「Wow! Why are you making such a loud voice!? It shouldn’t be that much of a deal to you, right!?」」

「T-T-T-T-That’s b-b-b-b-because!」

Surprised and speechless, Suffolk shook her head in apparent disbelief. Apparently Kent’s words must have been way too much for her to handle.

「W-w-w-w-why did you even decide something as important as this completely on your own!?」

「Huh!? Wait!? You said that you like flowers, Suffolk!」

「Yes! I do like flowers! But there is a major difference between liking flowers as a person and caring for the flower beds as a member of the Maid Corps! Besides…… Don’t you know that place that we are supposed to look after is big!? Like, really big!?」

「Huh? you don’t say? Is that so?」

Kent blinked a few times in quick succession.

「Yes! Yes it is! And taking care of flower beds is fundamentally different from growing plants in pots, just so you know! Uuuuuuhhhhhh……!!!」

Then, perhaps noticing the curious gazes of those around them, Suffolk, who had been standing straight up all naked, immersed herself in the warm bathtub while her face turned beet-red with embarrassment.

「So……?」

「Huh?」

「So… when are we supposed to be taking care of the flowers, exactly?」

Hearing Suffolk’s honest question, Kent’s eyes widened with amazement.

「You seriously did not pay any attention at all, did you? We have to get up early tomorrow morning.」

As soon as she heard that, Suffolk bubbled up inside of the bath and sank in it even deeper.

Just when she thought that, she popped her head out and shouted again.

「Kent, you dummy! You dumb, stupid dummy~! Taking care of flowers and it being really hard work is one thing, but having to wake up even earlier than usual for the sake of that hard work is even worse! It’s downright unreasonable!」

「I-It’s okay, you will see! I am confident that I can get up early myself, so once I wake up I am going to wake you up for sure! So don’t worry about it, alright, Suffolk?」

「Dummy~! You’re a big, dumb dummy! Kent, you absolute dummy~!!!」

Suffolk kept on groaning while looking at Kent with her eyes filled with tears.

「Well, I mean, this is mostly all on you, Suffolk, for sleeping like that during the meeting. You should have stayed awake and listened, and maybe this whole situation could have been avoided then.」

Even though Kent even tried so hard to deceive everyone present so that the two of them would not get scolded for their behavior, Suffolk’s current behavior was starting to feel more and more unreasonable to her. It was her own fault for sleeping and not paying attention, and now she was pinning all of the blame on Kent and saying whatever she wanted while she was at it.

Kent then vigorously stood up from the bathtub and said the following:

「Anyway, it’s already decided! What’s done is done! No matter what we try to say here, there is no way that we can back away from it now!」

Leaving Suffolk inside of the bathtub, who was still looking as if she wanted to say something here, Kent left the bathroom and went back to the changing room to get her clothes back.

「Now if only you could be this lively tomorrow…… I know that as long as I am with Suffolk, I can enjoy growing some of those flowers.」

Kent let out a soliloquy while changing her clothes with a sullen expression present on her face at all times.

「Who do you think I’m doing this for, huh? Besides, as long as the two of us do it, I know that we can have a blast with it……」