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

Hearing those words, Warspite groaned weakly and Elizabeth furrowed her brows even more than she already did.

Once they were both back at the Royal Navy’s dormitory, they would have to start taking action as soon as possible. There was no time for the entire faction to sit down and deliberate over what to do.

As for her, since Elizabeth was the official representative of the entire Royal Navy, she must have made a decision on her own.」

「…… What kind of expression can we have by using the stage……? And what would be the most appropriate form of expression for us as a whole……?」

In just a short amount of time, many different thoughts have come and gone through Elizabeth’s head without a moment of rest.

And then ——- Elizabeth whispered softly to herself when she managed to eventually arrive at the answer to their current dilemma.

「…… We are going to present a stage play.」

She then opened one of her eyes and looked at Warspite, who was sitting right next to her with a worried expression on her face.

「…… What do you think? Think we can do it?」

「Even if you ask me that, Your Majesty…… Is there any other good idea that we could perhaps present on the spot?」

「Sorry, but there is none.」

「Your Majesty ——」

Placing her index finger on top of Warspite’s lips, Elizabeth continued speaking.

「When it comes to performing on top of the stage, it should go without saying that a stage play should be the very first thing that comes to mind. That’s all there is to it.」

「S-So in other words…… It all ultimately boils down to…… 」

「Yes. It’s just as you think. It’s just a clever way of stalling for time when you have no plan at all.」

Elizabeth then opened her eyes and she let out a long and deep resigned sigh.

「…… I am still thinking about what we are going to perform on that stage, but first things first, we have the current problem at hand to take care of. Besides, I need to announce it with the same levels of confidence as everyone else did just now. And just so you know, it’s not just about me — the pride of the entire Royal Navy is at stake here.」

「—— Royal Navy faction, we want an answer and we want it quickly. For how long will you intend to keep us all waiting?」

It would seem that Eliazabeth managed to come up with a plan just in the nick of time, because Bismark was apparently starting to get impatient with her.

It would also seem that the time for discussions was pretty much over.

Elizabeth turned herself to face the other representatives once more, took a deep breath, and answered them clearly.

「As for the Royal Navy —— we are going to perform a stage play!」

And when Elizabeth announced that with pride in her voice, the eyes of Mikasa of the Sakura Empire sparked with amusement and excitement.

With as much tension to her words as all the other factions in attendance, Elizabeth continued with her bravado, with her eyes blinking with confidence.

「And this is not going to be just any ordinary stage play! This will be a masterpiece that is not going to lose to any one of your performances! And it will be so grand and so moving that you won’t be able to hold back your tears while watching it! It will be a huge and touching story! It will be a masterpiece that will be even more amazing than any story you have ever seen thus far! What do you say to that? You want to see it? Surely you want to!」

Once Elizabeth started to go on and on about the Royal Navy’s stage play, there was no way for her to stop talking. She wished that she could have kept her mouth shut without adding all those unnecessary things, but now it was too late to change that.

「We are going to show it to you all! The best form of entertainment that ever was! So you’d better brace yourselves!」

Once she had finished speaking, Elizabeth looked up at the ceiling thinking that now she had done it for sure.

She was way too enthusiastic and she raised way more hurdles for herself and her faction than she would have expected.

「Impressive! A grand and epic story such as this one — Now I am really looking forward to it!」

Mikasa was the first one to open her mouth and comment on Elizabeth’s proclamation.

「Hmm, I see. Then, what kind of play is this going to be? But since you said that we won’t be able to watch it without shedding some tears, then surely it must be a tragedy, right? At least, I can’t think of anything other than a tragedy here!」

Elizabeth could feel that there was already a huge lump of something really unpleasant forming inside of her throat, but nonetheless she had to force herself to answer Mikasa’s question. Otherwise it would seem way too suspicious.

「I-It’s a secret for now! You know, a trade secret! Just sit tight and wait patiently until the day of the School Festival rolls around! Then you are going to see it!」

「…… Hmm, I see. So it’s a stage play approach that you have chosen for yourself, huh?」

It was Bismarck who then opened her mouth and voiced her thoughts.

She then nodded her head repeatedly, staring at Elizabeth, as if being genuinely impressed by her wondrous announcement just now.

「You know what? When the two of you got up so suddenly upon hearing that this year’s Beauty Pageant was going to be canceled I thought that maybe, just maybe…… you have come here with no plan at all. Hell, I even thought for a moment out there that you might not actually have read the contents of the letter at all!」

Elisabeth and Warspite’s shoulders both stiffened upon hearing those words.

「However, I am glad to see that this was all nothing more but a misunderstanding on my end. The Royal Navy, a nation which has produced many famous playwrights and dramas across the span of its history, dared to put out a work that they are all being so proud of, so the way in which you were behaving just now must have been just an element with which you wanted to surprise us all. Very cunning, I have to admit.」

Elizabeth could only smile wryly here.

It seemed that Bismarck had accepted their earlier behavior in a positive light, thinking it was all just a part of their announcement strategy.

「Anyway, I think we can safely finish reporting on that matter for the time being.」

Enterprise then started writing something on a piece of paper that was in her hand, looking all happy and satisfied.

After writing something down for a while, most likely a report on the content of this particular part of the meeting, she slowly raised her head and took a general look at the faces of everyone present in the room.

「It doesn’t matter if it’s at a later date, but I want each faction to come up with a budget estimate for their activities as soon as possible. I want you to send it to the Eagle Union’s dormitory, and once I have everything, I will go and submit it right away. Now then, as for our next topic —— 」

Once Enterprise went to change the subject, Warspite turned towards Elizabeth and addressed some of her concerns to her while covering her face with her hands.

「Your Majesty…… I know that it is about your pride, but that might have gone a little bit too far!」

「W-Well, it cannot be helped! What was I supposed to do!? I tried to make my way out of this situation, and I accidentally ended up saying something like that! It was not on purpose!」

While all of the other factions were making their announcements with confidence, there was absolutely no way for the Royal Navy to show an uneasy attitude. That would only serve to undermine their position.

However, Elizabeth herself was well aware that she had gone way too far with that speech of hers than she was originally planning.

「……It’s okay, Warspite. I will be responsible for taking care of all the hurdles, since I am the one who got us all into this mess.」

「What exactly are you going to do, Your Majesty?」

「Since it’s already decided, I’m going to write the script myself!」

Saying that, Elizabeth gave Warspite a fearless smile.

Since she was the one who got all of the Royal Navy into this mess, it was only natural to her that she would have to step up and create the best script ever.