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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 4 Chapter 1 Part 2

The one to say that was the Iron Blood’s First Battleship of the Bismarck Class, Bismarck. She was the flagship as well as the representative of the Iron Blood faction.

Hearing her remarks, Elizabeth was somewhat annoyed instantly, but she and Warspite decided to heed that no mind and instead headed to their assigned seats.

「But speaking of which, I wonder who the other factions are going to delegate to be their representative during this year’s ‘Beauty Pageant’?」

When Elizabeth muttered those words as she took her seat, Warspite looked at the faces of all the other representatives of the other factions.

「No matter who we are going to be dealing with this year, there’s no doubt that it is going to be a very difficult battle.」

A School Festival is being held in the Home Port every year around this time of the year.

At the time of the festival there are many attractions and events taking place, but among them all, the one that is the most exciting is the even that was come to be known simply as the ‘Beauty Pageant’, and it was customary to announce the specific judging standards and rules at this representative meeting every year.

Each faction has to delegate one candidate for the Beauty Pageant, but the matter of who each faction decided to choose for this year was still unclear for the time being.

Last year, there was an unexpected leak of information from Victorious, but that proved to be a one-time-only stroke of luck. It was always impossible to make a good guess about the other factions’ candidates from their expressions and reactions alone.

「Warspite. By the way, who do you think would be the best candidate for the ‘Beauty Pageant’ that the Royal Navy can choose to participate in?」

Elizabeth leaned closer to Warspite as she whispered that question right into her ear. For a moment out there, Warspite placed her hand on her chin and seemed to be lost in deep thought. But before long she was ready to answer that question.

「…… I think that Centaur would be the best possible choice, all things considered.」

「Hmm, Centaur, you say? Yes, I think so, too. When it comes to that girl, she quite easily suits the requirements of both “beauty” and “elegance” that are required from the Royal Navy’s representative. You certainly have a keen eye for those things, Warspite.」

「Although I said Centaur, she is not the only one worthy candidate, Your Majesty. All of the girls nominated as candidates for this year’s Beauty Pageant are extremely talented and capable, well worthy of representing the Royal Navy. If possible, I would like to consider this matter further after this meeting is over.」

At Warspite’s words, Elizabeth folded her arms at her chest in satisfaction.

「Ah, that’s a really good suggestion, Warspite. Nicely said, indeed. Actually, I think that last year’s nominee, Bell, even though she did not manage to win in the end, was a trigger of change, and that we are on the right track with that. This year, we shall do whatever it takes to win the championship for sure!」

When Elizabeth said so, Enterprise, the representative of the Eagle Union faction, looked at the faces of the respective faction representatives.

「Well then let us start the meeting for this year’s School Festival, shall we —— 」

Elizabeth and Warspite looked at each other’s faces and nodded at one another.

Just when they thought everyone was going to start talking about the Beauty Pageant, that’s exactly when IT happened completely out of the blue.

「——— First of all, about the cancellation of this year’s main event, the ‘Beauty Pageant’.」

For a moment out there, the two could not understand the words that came out of Enterprise’s mouth, and their expressions stiffened on the spot.

However, they soon came to their senses, and both Elizabeth and Warspite involuntarily stood up from their seats at the remark that they could not possibly ignore.

「Wait a second, we are doing what?!」

「What the hell is that even supposed to mean!?」

Both Elizabeth and Warspite were so overwhelmed by the momentum and weight of Enterprise’s words, causing their chairs to tip over backwards.

But neither of them had the luxury of worrying about such things as falling out of their chairs at the current moment.

「What do you mean by that? What does that mean that the Beauty Pageant is canceled?」

Elizabeth raised her voice at Enterprise, who looked at her with a dubious look.

「How come we were not even notified about something as important as this ——!?」

「The news regarding that subject should have been sent in advance to the dormitories of all the involved factions in the form of a sealed letter….. Did it not reach you?」

And then, just as Elizabeth was about to say that this was the first that she ever heard about it and that no such letter ever arrived at her office,

「——— Ah!」

Immediately right after that, she remembered something and leaked out an inaudible voice.

Actually, a few days ago, a sealed letter addressed to the representative of the Royal Navy had arrived at her office, but she was so busy that she ended up leaving it on top of her desk without even bothering to open it in the first place.

It must have been just that. That notice regarding the Beauty Pageant cancellation. Thinking so, she slowly closed her lips and swallowed her words, not wanting to embarrass herself even further.

And she put her chair back where it belonged after nearly knocking it over, Elizabeth said in her usual languid voice.

「Wha…… O-Oh, that, huh? Yeah, of course I knew about it! I just wanted to make sure that everyone else know! And that everything is understood! Yeah, just that, nothing else……」

「Your Majesty, you were aware of that this whole time!?」

Elizabeth turned her face towards Warspite who had her jaw hanging wide open upon hearing this sudden revelation.

「…… Alright, alright! Sit down for now, Warspite! You’re making a scene! I will tell you everything later!」

Being told that, Warspite actually put her chair back in its place and sat back down, although she did that really reluctantly.

—— I did not think that a letter from that time would be about anything serious…… Especially that it would be about this very meeting……

Just when she thought the sweat had finally dried up on her back after running at full speed, it started to seep into her skin all over again, and in even larger quantities.

If she remembered correctly, on the front of the sealed letter there was a firm stamp with a red seal with the words “Important Parcel” written in bold letters.

And yet, even though it was something that was so important, there was no way that Elizabeth could possibly say to everyone present that it was still somewhere out there under a pile of unopened and unchecked documents…… She would basically die of embarrassment if she was to do just that.

Elizabeth wiped the sweat from her forehead that was about to drip down her temples.

「Well then, how about we move no now, shall we?」

「W-Wait just a moment!」

When Elizabeth cried out in panic, Enterprise furrowed her brows in dissatisfaction. Others also started to look at her with puzzlement.

「What now?」

「Umm…… 」

Since Elizabeth did not know the contents of the sealed letter and its documents in detail, it would be a problem if they were all going to continue to discuss that subject even more.

So, Elizabeth was currently desperately trying to come up with a way that would allow her to actually discover what was going on, without actually making it obvious that she herself had no idea.

「…… Ah, yes! That’s right! We are going to discuss more of the things that were included in the sealed letter, right? Yeah, of course we are! But……」

Saying that, Elizabeth pointed her finger towards Warspite with utmost confidence visible on her face..

「Everyone! As you can clearly see, I regret to inform you that this here Warspite has no idea what we are currently talking about! So I am really sorry, but do you think you would be so kind as to explain the contents of the letter one more time? Just so that we can bring her up to speed?」

「Huh? What? Is that how it is?」

It was a random excuse that Elizabeth tried to come up with on the spot just now, but it would seem that Enterprise managed to be convinced by it.

「Alright then, if that’s how it is, then let me explain things to everyone once again, just to make sure that we are on the same page here.」

After Enterprise said that, Elizabeth leaned back in her chair while letting out a deep and long sigh of relief.