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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 3 Chapter 3 Part 6

First, the two of them swept the floor covered in a thick blanket of shed hair with a broom, and then they mopped the entire floor with a mixture of water and floor detergent.

Next, they removed the food spills on the sofa and wiped off the stains here and there with leather detergent-wet cloth.

In addition, they dusted the shelves, wiped the bookshelves clean, cleaned both the refrigerator and the TV using a special fiber cloth or a dry handy mop. All those specific tools were rather pricey, but when put to good and proper use they were able to get the job done in no time at all.

The last thing that was left for them to do was to try and clean the rug under the TV and sofa, but……

「…………………….」

The carpet in question was currently being occupied by a rather grumpy Lime.

And even when Sheffield approached the carpet with a clear intention of cleaning it, Lime would still remain there and not move even an inch.

「I would like to start cleaning now, so please move out of the way.」

Even though Sheffield relentlessly told Lime to move, the Meowofficer Lime had decided to completely ignore her words and pretended she did not hear them.

Seeing Lime wagging her tail exaggeratedly, Bel-chan suddenly remembered what was written in the book she read last night about various cat behaviors.

「Sheffield-san. I think Lime-san probably wants you to leave her alone for now.」

「I don’t care. I want it to get out of here and let me do my job properly.」

It would seem that for today Sheffield was not going to compromise on anything.

Sheffield’s dedication to cleaning was a character trait that clearly set her apart from any other maid out there.

Looking at her usual state, it was absolutely unthinkable for her to yield to any kind opponent who would dare to try and disturb her on the job.

Realizing that fact, Bel-chan reluctantly grabbed Lime in a hurry, and she withdrew from the carpet, deciding that avoiding confrontation between the two was the best course of action here.

「…… !!! ……!!!!!!」

「Uwah! Hey now! Stop moving so much! I just need you to move a little bit, that is all!」

Despite Bel-chan’s words, Lime continued to struggle in her arms.

She tried to somehow soothe her, but her pride would not allow her to be touched so casually.

「Uwaah! H-Hey! Please, I beg of you, just stop! Please be patient for a while, I’ll let you go soon, I promise!」

After finally letting go of Lime and getting her off of the carpet, Lime kicked Bel-chan’s chest and landed softly on the floor.

「Uuuhh…… I don’t think that I have given you any reason to hate me, did I?」

Even so, Lime turned her face away from Bel-chan and then she demonstrated her anger by walking past her without paying any attention to Bel-chan at all. The small maid knew that it was her fault for invading her private space like that without consent, but they could not allow for selfish behavior like that to get in the way of their cleaning.

「Aside from this one, the other Meowofficers are way better behaved than I have thought……」

Perhaps it was all due to those two being so overwhelmed with fear by Sheffield earlier, but it did not seem to have much effect on Lime in particular.

Lime probably had a way stronger sense of territory when it comes to this room than the other Meowofficers, and throughout the rest of the cleaning she continued to ignore the two maids while they were at work.

「We will be back tomorrow at roughly the same time, so you would do best to keep that in mind.」

Sheffield called out to Lime as she was leaving the room, but Lime continued to wag her tail without even looking at them a single second.

「…… Well then, that will be all for now.」

Regardless of whether or not Lime heard and understood her words , Sheffield left the room without saying anything more.

「Well then, everyone. I look forward to working with you tomorrow once again.」

Next, Bel-chan also smiled at the Meowofficers with the friendliest smile she could muster and closed the door behind her while on her way out.

「Fuuh……」

It was only then after Bel-chan left the room that she almost unconsciously let out a long sigh of relief.

Even if the atmosphere inside of the room was pretty bad and could use some improvement, the cleaning process itself was going well for the time being. Bel-chan heard that the other factions were having a hard time cleaning the Meowofficers rooms, and even if the small maid was feeling a little bit discouraged with this current situation, she felt like it would not be that much of a problem as long as the two of them were able to do it properly.

「Cats tend to have a lot of hair, so if you don’t clean them regularly, their rooms are going to get dirty really quick…… But let’s hope that something like that won’t end up happening.」

But unfortunately, Bel-chan’s feelings and expectations were immediately shattered the very next day.

「Kyaaah~!」

When the cleaning was over for the day, Bel-chan was about to wash away the water in the bucket that she just finished using. But suddenly, a Lime rushed past the small maid’s feet at high speed.

She suddenly got tangled up in between Bel-chan’s legs, and Bel-chan fell on the spot and was covered with the dirty water from the inside of the bucket she was holding onto.

「I got soaking wet, Sheffield-san.」

Seeing Bel-chan drenched from head to toe like that, Sheffield turned her gaze towards Lime and glared at her really intently.

In Lime’s hand was a moving mechanical toy. Apparently it was because she was chasing that thing down that she didn’t care about her surroundings at all.

「Playing with toys is no excuse for causing a ruckus like that. Now go and apologize to Bel-chan right this instant.」

Lime stuck out her tongue at Sheffield in response. Even though she did not say a single word, it was as if she was trying to say that it was actually Bel-chan’s fault for standing there at that particular moment, and that she had no one else to blame for it but herself.

「Sheffield-san, please refrain from using your guns in here.」

As soon as Bel-chan preempted Sheffield’s actions and told her so, she made sure that the conflict here would not escalate even more.

Seeing this, Sheffield lowered her skirt, which had been pulled up halfway already, and approached Bel-chan.

「Unfortunately, I didn’t bring a towel with me here. The cleaning is already finished for today, so let’s go back to the dormitory and go straight to the bathroom.」

「Yes…… let’s do it, Sheffield-san.」

When Bel-chan stood up, water droplets fell from her apron, and the clean floor that they had just finished cleaning became dirty again, and Bel-chan left the room feeling really disappointed and disheartened.

Just before closing the door, Sheffield glared at Lime as she was leaving.

「Don’t you even think, not even for a second, that the same move will work tomorrow.」

Even though she said it in such a harsh tone, Lime kept looking away with a face of complete indifference.

* * *

On their way back to the dormitory after leaving the Cat Lodge, Bel-chan decided to finally voice the thoughts that were troubling her mind out loud.

「I am really sorry, Sheffield-san…… It’s my fault that this thing is going so poorly.」

Sheffield, who was walking right next to Bel-chan, tilted her head in puzzlement.

「That what is going poorly? What do you mean?」

「It’s about that bad atmosphere that just keeps on hanging in the room at all times. I am sure that Lime-san keeps on harassing us because she doesn’t acknowledge us being there in the first place.」

「I understand what you are trying to say here, Bel-chan, but do you really think that it is possible for us to actually reach an understanding?」

「This is……」

「By their very nature, they are just like cats, so they are way too proud for their own good. They are capricious, selfish, and above all else, they don’t want outsiders to invade their territory. I’m sure those children won’t be able to understand the importance of cleaning with their sense of values as we know them.」

Sheffield’s opinion was right, Bel-chan knew that.

In fact, the five Meowofficers, led by Lime, did not even know the importance of cleaning. They would eat, play around and sleep as they pleased. But by their set of values, that’s what their lives should be all about in the first place.

The reason why the other four Meowofficers were so obedient was because they were afraid of the oppressive aura that Sheffield was emitting about her, and in essence they shared the same ideals as Lime was.