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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 3 Chapter 2 Part 9

「Suffolk, what did you do with your washed sheets and curtains?」

「Yes, everything has been brought to the linen room!」

To Belfast, Sheffield and Curacoa respectively, the way she responded with her precise actions was like an entirely different person from how Suffolk used to be.

「Working hard is my greatest pleasure in life!」

She continued to say lines that she would never normally say before. It was as if she even managed to forget about her own habits.

「Huh? Looking at the sky and clouds? Daydreaming? I don’t have time for things like that! If I have the time for useless things like that, I might as well use that time to be useful to everyone!」

With a seriousness that was simply unnatural for her and far exceeded any possible levels of discomfort, she was so busy moving around every single day from morning to evening.

「———— Seriously now, Suffolk really seems to be an entirely different person ever since that accident!」

That was what Curlew told Kent on one occasion when the two of them happened to meet in the corridor just outside of the laundry room.

「But if I am being honest, that change of character of hers turned out to be a huge help with the workload around the dormitory, I’m not going to lie.」

「Yeah, I know. But still……」

Kent mumbled to herself while lowering her head dejectedly.

「When it comes to me…… I liked the former Suffolk way better.」

While Kent was saying that, Curlew took her finished laundry, and she said quietly while the two of them were taking turns drying their batches of laundry on the clothespin.

「I am sorry, that was a bit of a careless remark on my part.」

「No, you don’t have to be sorry for that. Since it is you, Curlew-san, I think that I know exactly where you are coming from with this.」

However, when it comes to Kent, it was something entirely different.

She knew more than anyone else that the real Suffolk was a little bit slow on the uptake and that she was prone to making all kinds of silly mistakes. But that was just a part of her natural charm.

Perhaps it had something to do with how successful she was with her work during those past couple of days? And that it was so different from what Kent thought she knew?

Yes, it was probably because the current Suffolk was so different from the Suffolk that Kent happened to know on a daily basis.

After drying all of their laundry on the dormitory’s roof, Curlew turned around with the laundry basket in her hands.

「I will go and check up on the clock tower together with my sister after this, so as for you,Kent, please go back inside and help the other maids out.」

「OK, in that case, I will be heading back for now.」

Waving her hand at Curlew in a gesture of goodbye, Kent left the roof and went back inside and down the stairs.

She went downstairs, walked down the hallway towards the kitchen, and was about to turn a corner, when suddenly……

「Whoa there —— Huh? Suffolk……」

She just so happened to run into Suffolk, who was heading somewhere else.

{Oh, well if it isn’t Kent-san. Hello.」

Seeing just how politely Suffolk bowed her head in front of her and hearing the way in which she spoke to her, Kent felt as if her entire throat got choked in that single moment.

「Y-Yeah, hello.」

She barely even responded to her greeting, but it was inevitable that she would become somewhat distant to this new Suffolk.

Combined with the unnaturalness of being called with the added “-san” at the end of her name on top of Suffolk’s amnesia, Kent oftentimes felt like she was talking to a complete stranger rather than a trusty friend.

「You see, until a while ago I was actually helping the Head Maid with her duties, but then she said to me that I should go and have a little break. But then I thought that it does not sit well with me to have so much free time on my hands, so I was actually looking for something to do.」’

「O-Oh, I-I see.」

After the accident, it was decided by Belfast that Suffolk should have slightly less work to do than the other maids, partially because she was still recovering from her injury, and partially so that she would not end up doing something reckless again. However, it would seem that the current Suffolk was just itching to do some work instead of taking a break.

「Say, Kent-san? Can I help you out with some of your work? I promise that I will work hard on it, so please let me lend you a hand!」

Truth to be told, the way in which Suffolk’s eyes were sparkling right now was unimaginably beautiful.

「N-No, you see, it’s just that…… I don’t have anything that you could help me out with in particular, but……」

For a moment out there Kent hesitated as she answered. She really had no idea how to deal with Suffolk after she happened to lose her memories. And that was the exact reason as to why she was trying to keep her distance from her as much as possible,

And yet, Suffolk would cling close to her and continue to bring her face closer and closer to Kent’s.

「I don’t even care what kind of a job it will be! Please! Just give me something to do! I’m positively itching to get some work done! Whether it’s pouring tea, helping with the cleaning, or just rubbing your shoulders, I will see to it that it gets done ———」

「I already told you, I have nothing for you to do! Nothing!」

Kent lashed out at Suffolk in a stern tone of voice, as she jerked herself away from her face, especially when she realized that Suffolk was sticking way too close for comfort to her.

「…… !? I-Is that so……? I-I’m sorry……」

「Yeah… Um, look, can I go now? I really don’t have time for this.」

Feeling really tired for some reason, Kent walked right past Suffolk.

However, while being on her way, a sudden thought occurred to her, and she turned around to face Suffolk once again.

「Oh yeah. Hey, Suffolk? Can you come over here for a second?」

「Yes? What is it? Is it about some job that you would like for me to do?」

「No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just about a certain thought that occured to me, that’s all.」

Kent then took Suffolk by the arm and started to lead her down the corridor.

Their destination was the still room. It was in front of the back door leading to the kitchen, but it was quicker to just walk through the courtyard from here.

Thinking so, Kent opened the glass door from the first floor corridor and the two of them outside.

Turning south from the terrace, after a while, they could finally see the kitchen.

And what stood directly opposite of the kitchen was a hut where the still room was located.

There were also other rooms right beside it, but they were only a wine cellar and basement food storage.

As soon as Kent opened the door leading into the still room,

「——— Huh? You guys? What’s wrong?」

The one who looked back at both Kent and Suffolk was Edinburgh, who seemed to be in here for a while now. On the table right next to her, the two maids could see a row of materials that should normally have been stored in the cupboards.

When Kent was wondering what Edinburgh was doing in here, she showed her the ledger she was holding in her hand.

「I was just checking the stocks of the still room, you see. It was originally a job that Suffolk was supposed to do, but I felt in the mood to get that job done in her stead for some reason.」

「I did not know you used to do that, too.」

Thinking that she had heard something completely unexpected here, Kent turned towards Edinburgh.

「Um, so, is it okay if I help myself to some fresh cream from now on?」

「Of course I don’t mind, go right ahead. But why?」

「It’s about something that the two of us used to do well before Suffolk lost her memory. Alright then, Suffolk. Come over here for a moment.」

Then Kent immediately grabbed a bowl and some granulated sugar from the cupboard, as well as some ice from the freezer, and placed them on top of the table.

「Hey! I want you to help me out with whipping some cream and then mixing it with those ingredients.」

「You want me to whip some cream?」

Suffolk could only tilt her head in puzzlement as he grabbed the whisk in her hand.

As a matter of fact, Suffolk from before her memory loss was really good at making sweets. So good, in fact, that she was more commonly known across the Home Port island as the Patisserie of the Royal Maid Corps. When it comes to making sweets in general, Neptune was the unquestionable best of the entire Royal Navy, but Suffolk was only slightly worse at that, if not equally as good.

And as a matter of course, being able to whip the cream into whipped cream was one of the most essential parts of all of the sweets-making process.