3 bar menu

Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 4 Chapter 1 Part 14

Starting with that time when Warspite visited the kitchen in order to make some scones for Queen Elizabeth, almost ended up burning the entire kitchen and Belfast had to tutor her on how to do it right.

Or that one time in winter when Bel-chan found a small bird outside and nursed it back to health, releasing it back into the wild.

Or that one time when Belfast with the help of Warspite decorated the entire kitchen with Christmas lights and decorations as a present to all other maids for Christmas.

Or that one time when Kent and Suffolk got into a fight when they were supposed to be taking care of the flower beds, and Suffolk ended up suffering from amnesia as a result.

Or that one time when the Royal Maids were invited to take part in the ball and the tea party organized by the representatives of Iris Libre, and they ended up taking a commemorative photo while all wearing formal dresses.

There was also this one time that Belfast went away to that spa and hot springs resort for her holiday, and what she did back there was also a cause for some people to be smiling in a nostalgic way.

「OK, let’s rock our brains here for a second! Come to think of it, there was this one time when Sirius was supposed to make pancakes, but she served them really petite to everyone!」

Sirius, who was standing right by the door leading to the kitchen, looked up when Kent suddenly turned the conversation over towards her and bowed her head down in apology.

「Ah! T-That was because I was so worried about screwing the pancakes up, so I just kept on taste-testing them over and over again, until I eventually ran out of ingredients to make them! So, for everyone to have their share, I just had to make them really petite like that……」

Amidst a sudden burst of honest and warm laughter from everyone present within the kitchen, Echo scribbled furiously on the pages of her notepad in order to get all those aforementioned “episodes” down, without missing even a single detail.

「Come on now, Echo. You don’t have to write that much in that notepad of yours! Surely you must be tired from writing so much all day, aren’t you?」

But even though Edinburgh said so to Echo, her hand did not stop moving, her pen gliding over the surface of the notepad’s pages, with no sign that she would stop anytime soon.

「No, I want to keep on writing as much as possible! Perhaps something from those pages is going to provide us with a precious hint! I can feel it!」

While Belfast was listening to such an exchange between the two of them,

「Come to think of it, Halloween was an exceptionally tough time, wasn’t it?」

As Suffolk suddenly remembered the events that transpired at that time, she added her fill to the brainstorming session.

「The true identity of the candy thief was actually a bunch of Manjuus who decided to pull a prank on everyone and dress up as a ghost maid.」

「No, Suffolk, you actually got that part wrong, you know? That was never a ghost maid to begin with, but rather a Scarecrow, a shipgirl that never even got to be.」

It was at that exact moment, when that name was mentioned, that something akin to an electric current ran through Belfast’s head, as if something had just clicked inside of her mind.

「What you said just now…… 」

Belfast at that moment thought that she was hit with a similar feeling just the other day.

Belfast looked down towards the ground for a moment, trying to remember when it was and what it was all about.

「That was…… when I was inside of the auditorium.」

Yesterday, when she and Edinburgh were called by Elizabeth to go to the auditorium, and at that time when they were told about the stage play.

—— There is no other choice but to make the stage play with the maids as its main theme!

When Belfast heard those exact words, there was a certain thought that occurred to her at that time.

And it was the exact same feeling as the one that she felt at that time before, around the Halloween period.

「…… The Ghost Maid, huh?」

「Hm? What’s wrong, Bel?」

Edinburgh called out to Belfast anxiously, seeing that her little sister was lost so deep in her thoughts.

「It’s about the Ghost Maid, Nee-san.」

It was then that Belfast finally raised her head up and looked at Edinburgh.

「Everyone, there is something that I would like to share with you all. It is something that struck me from the words that Suffolk-san just said. Will you please listen to what I have to say?」

Seeing Belfast, who suddenly spoke to everyone with a serious expression on her face, the maids who had been chatting until just now turned their gazes towards her, wondering what exactly was going on.

「This is related to the case of the Halloween candy thief we had here last year. At first, we misunderstood the entire situation and we thought that the Home Port was being haunted by the mysterious Ghost Maid. Isn’t that right?」

When Belfast asked the rest of the maids for confirmation, everyone nodded their heads with dubious expressions.

「However, in reality, it was the Manjuus who were just dressed up as a Ghost Maid, who was fashioned by the prototype shipgirl called Scarecrow. The Ghost Maid, who was rumored to have appeared in the Home Port, was originally a ghost who would perform good deeds and would not perform any mischief, not wanting anything for her services.」

「What are you trying to say by that, Belfast?」

Sheffield turned her face over towards the Head Maid as she closed shut the cleaning tools closet.

「It’s just that, I have been thinking, is all. In the first place, I would like to find out who this mysterious Ghost Maid really was and why would ever rumors about her start in the first place. There must have been some sort of catalyst for that to happen.」

「So in other words, you wish to find the roots of the legend about the Ghost Maid?」

Newcastle, who was watching the scene develop while staying completely quiet,instinctively asked for the confirmation of her own theory.

「Yes, that’s right. According to Erebus-sama, the Ghost Maid may have once lived in this very Home Port. In other words, if we trace the roots of this Ghost Maid person, who is also supposed to be our predecessor in a sense, I honestly think that it has a potential to be the kind of a maid story that Her Majesty is so desperately looking for right about now.」

At any rate, the entire Ghost Maid story that they were talking about now was still only a rumor at its very core. And it might have been nothing more but that, just a mere rumor.

But, at the same time Belfast felt that it was something more to that. That there was something about the Ghost Maid, some sort of an episode, that must have made it possible for her to have an impact on so many other and different people. She was sure of it. I’m sure there must be an episode in the ghost maid that will have an impact on many people.

Now it was only a matter of actually confirming it.

* * *

It was late at night right about now, and the maids were still wondering what it was that they should be doing about the situation that arose on their hands.

But in the end, whatever it would be that they would choose to do, they would need to act fast if they were going to use the knowledge that they would obtain to help Elizabeth and Warspite out in their predicament.

It took her a while to figure out, but once Belfast finally made up her mind about what it was that she wanted to do, she immediately rushed towards the desolated hut right behind the Royal Navy’s dormitory, the one in which Erebus and her friends were all dwelling.

The ones who chose to accompany Belfast in this particular outing were Edinburgh, Bel-chan, and Echo.

Leaving through the back door of the kitchen right away, after a short trek they all reached Erebus’s hut. And they could see from the outside that the lights inside of the hut were still lit up.

Belfast then stepped forward and arrived at the hut’s door, knocking onto it in a polite way.

「Erebus-sama. I am sorry for disturbing you in the middle of the night like that. Please forgive us for the sudden visit.」

When she called out in the direction of the door and waited for a while, she could then hear the sound of a click and the key being rotated in the lock, the door eventually opening.