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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 3 Chapter 2 Part 7

「I-It’s all my fault, I was not paying attention and I did not see you there…… I did not really wanted for that to happen, and…… and……」

「Look, I said that I am fine. I really am. So let’s just leave it at that.」

Somehow, Suffolk could tell that Kent’s way of speaking was a little colder than usual.

Trying to distract her from her current predicament, Suffolk frantically rocked her head in an attempt at coming up with some sort of a witty joke that she could use here.

「O-Oh yeah, that’s right! I have thought of a pun that I have been keeping specifically for occasions like this one right here! So, Kent! What do you call a watering can that is completely empty? A watering can’t! —— It’s a joke like that.」

After saying it herself out loud, Suffolk could not help it but to think that as far as puns went, that one was a really boring and uninteresting one.

And as expected, Kent did not smile at all upon hearing it.

「Ummm, this is, well…… Umm…… let me try another one…… this time for sure…… Umm……」

Suffolk started groaning as she was trying to come up with one more good gag on the spot, but it was then that Kent burst out laughing in a really unnatural way. And after she was done, she only said the following:

「Hey, Suffolk? Think you could leave me alone for a little bit? I think I could really use some quality alone time right about now.」

After Kent said that, she turned her back on Suffolk and started working all by herself.

「K-Kent…… Are you perhaps mad at me or something?」

But even when Suffolk asked her that, Kent did not respond and simply continued to work on her own.

「Uuuhhh……」

Suffolk picked up the trimming scissors she had dropped on the ground and tried to leave the flower bed and go somewhere else, wondering why Kent would even act in such a selfish and nasty way, even though nothing really all that bad ended up happening.

It was also at that time when ——

「—— Oh my? What happened, you two?」

Before Suffolk was able to leave somewhere else, Belfast had already arrived on the site, carrying breakfast with herself that must have already been prepared.

「I actually got worried about you and came to see how your work was proceeding, but…… Suffolk, what’s wrong?」

Belfast looked really worried and confused for a moment out there, but Suffolk just walked past her without actually saying anything.

Seeing that Suffolk was apparently unwilling to talk about it, Belfast naturally turned towards Kent who was still tending to the flower bed in hopes of receiving some proper explanation.

「Kent, can you please tell me what happened?」

* * *

「Hmm, I see, I think I got the gist of the situation.」

Hearing the sequence of events that transpired thus far, Belfast nodded her head a few times.

Kent had finished watering the plants and was now digging up the soil in the planter while crouched down, not even looking at Belfast at the current moment.

「That’s why, Head Maid, from tomorrow onwards, Kent will be fine on her own. I should be able to do most of the things here with Aurora-san’s proper guidance, and above all else, I think that I am really starting to like this job.」

「But then, what about Suffolk?」

When Belfast asked her that, Kent thrust a shovel into the dirt with a mighty impact.

「About Suffolk…… She looked really tired this early in the morning and had trouble getting up properly…… So maybe it would be a good thing to be relegated from this duty so that she could be well rested…… It’s just that……」

「Well, personally, I don’t think that Suffolk-san bumped into you while having any bad intentions on her mind, Kent-san.」

When Aurora, who had been watching this exchange for a while just now, saw such a follow-up, Kent raised her head while still crouching and objected vigorously.

「Yes, I know that! But the thing is, it’s always like that with her…… And sometimes I really can’t stand it anymore……」

「Have you perhaps been putting up with Suffolk all this time until now?」

Belfast stared at Kent when she asked her that.

「No……It’s not that. It’s just that…… I don’t know……」

When she continued to speak after a brief moment of pause, Belfast crouched right next to Kent, who dropped her gaze on the planter and would refuse to look up.

「Suffolk can really be a troublesome child at times, we know that. We also know that it was not your fault, Kent. But you know? I think that this girl’s loose side is the perfect way to distract you from your serious personality from time to time.」

To those words, Kent said nothing at all.

Thinking that this could not actually be helped, Belfast gently stroked her head from the side.

「Do you think that the two of you can make up properly later on?」

To that, Kent shook her head.

「…I don’t know. Unlike usual, for some reason today I got really angry.」

Then the maid pit her knees together and hid her face in between them, being silent for a moment. And then she said with a trembling voice.

「Besides, I…… I don’t think that Suffolk is going to forgive me even if I apologized this time around……」

「Don’t say that. That’s not true at all.」

Belfast chuckled slightly.

「Kent, can you answer me this: why did you want to do gardening work together with Suffolk in the first place?」

Then she gently pulled Kent’s head from in between her knees, while she was still silent.

「As long as you do not forget how you felt at that time, you can always make up over and over again.」

Now, even though Kent did not say anything to those words, Belfast knew that deep down inside their meaning managed to reach the maid’s heart.

Belfast then turned her face to Aurora, who was still standing by her side.

「Aurora-san, I do realize that those two must have caused you some trouble today, but can I still ask you to guide them and help them out tomorrow?」

「Of course. As long as someone is earnestly willing to learn and help, I will always guide and assist them ——」

She nodded her head while also placing her hand on top of Kent’s head, which was also gently swaying in the wind.

「Hmm? This is…… Now, what in the world is this girl even doing……?」

Aurora then rose her head all of a sudden and looked in the opposite direction from the flower bed.

「Uuuhhh… Just a little bit more…… I’m almost there……」

And right there where Aurora was looking, there was Suffolk, standing on top of a step ladder under a big tree.

She held a set of trimming scissors in her hand, and seemed to think she was going to cut the branch all by herself.

As for the branch itself, it was much higher than the stepladder that she had brought with her would allow her to reach, and perhaps she was trying to cut the branch by raising her heels on the stepladder. She was clearly in an unstable position right there, and her whole body was trembling like that of a newborn fowl.

「Huh!? Stop right there, Suffolk! It’s dangerous!」

Belfast calls out to the maid in a stern and strong tone.

Then Kent, too, raised her head and looked towards the big tree.

Then he shouted at Suffolk with eyes wide open as if she was looking at something completely unbelievable and inconceivable.

「Unbelievable!? What are you doing, Suffolk!?」

Suffolk heard her voice and shouted loudly.

「Look at me, Kent! I can do my job properly all on my own! I don’t even need you!」

At that moment, her feet started to shake even more.

「Whoa!? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!!! Uwaaaaaahhhhhh~!!!」

She quickly tried to reposition herself on the stepladder, but her legs would only tangle even more because of that, causing her to rattle the step ladder even more.

「Ah! No good! At this rate……!!」

Belfast hurriedly tried to run towards Suffolk in order to prevent the impending disaster, but unfortunately it was already too late for her to do anything.

Suffolk threw her body backwards in a big arch after losing her balance and being unable to regain it. At that moment, both of her legs slipped off of the stepladder and she was thrown into the air and fell headlong towards the ground.

「Suffolk!!」

At the same time as Kent shouted out loud, a dull sound resounded in the area. By the time Belfast reached the tree, Suffolk was sprawled on the ground, her eyes rolling around in their sockets, as the maid herself looked completely passed out.