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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 4 Chapter 1 Part 6

Edinburgh swallowed her words upon hearing that sudden call from Echo, who was once again right in front of them.

After passing through a group of small islands, the view in front of them started to gradually open up. The three of them were finally able to see the Home Port, to which they were all returning to after a couple days of absence. Both Belfast and Edinburgh let out a small sigh at the exact same time.

「…… I don’t know why, but I always feel relieved when I see this scenery.」

The lingering summer heat has just passed and the mountains surrounding the Home Port, which were still covered in a coat of fresh green, but in a month or two, the scenery would take a turn to the red and yellow and the scenery would be even more breathtakingly beautiful.

「Just a little bit more and we are going to be entering the autumn season…… Which reminds me.」

After saying that, Edinburgh turned to Belfast as if she suddenly remembered something important.

「Say, Bel. Come to think of it, isn’t it time for the School Festival to be just around the corner?」

Belfast thought about it for a moment and realized that this was indeed true.

「Sometimes I get a feeling that the seasons change way too fast around here, goodness gracious.」

When Belfast started to think that this year has really flew by quite fast,

「Everyone, please have a look over there! It seems that someone is waiting for us at the pier!」

Suddenly Echo saw something in the distance and pointed her finger at it.

「…… Hey, Bel. That figure over there…… isn’t that actually Bel-chan?」

Standing right next to Belfast, Edinburgh muttered those words while pushing up the glasses that were sitting on top of her nose.

「Well, judging from their hairstyle, height, and style of clothes that they are wearing, there is only one possible person who matches that description so perfectly. There is no doubt about it.」

While the two of them were saying that, it would seem that the other side had also noticed them as well.

Bel-chan even started waving her hand in a big way at the three of them so that they would notice her faster, even though they were still some considerable distance away.

「What do you want to do, Bel? Should we just anchor over there and be done with it?」

Belfast slowly nodded her head at that suggestion, seeing that Echo was also twisting her neck behind her, looking at them and seeing what kind of decision they would make here.

「Yes, let’s do that. Let’s dock right over there.」

When the three of them arrived at the Home Port and climbed up the pier after safely docking, Bel-chan quickly approached them with a smile on her face.

「Edinburgh-nee-sama, Belfast-nee-sama, welcome back home. Also, Her Majesty has been waiting for your arrival as well. She wishes to speak with you right away.」

「…… Her Majesty? Waiting for us?」

「Yes. As a matter of fact, Her Majesty is waiting for you at the Academy’s auditorium as we speak.」

Hearing those words, Edinburgh smiled wryly.

「So it means that whatever Her Majesty wants with us…… is actually something urgent, huh?」

「I know that it’s been a while since we left here, so I would like a moment to actually catch my breath, but if Her Majesty wishes to see us so urgently, we are going to be there as soon as possible ——」

When Belfast said so, she suddenly felt Echo’s gaze staring intently at her from her side.

「Ah……」

As soon as Belfast turned herself around, Echo let out a small voice and looked down all embarrassed.

Belfast swallowed what she was about to say and called out to Edinburgh in a low voice, quiet enough so that Echo would not be able to hear her.

「—— Nee-san.」

「Huh?」

Edinburgh turned around and she saw that Belfast was winking at her really intently.

「Hmm? What happened, Bel?」

Asking that, Edinburgh, who was also caught completely off guard by the sight of Echo looking down at her own feet all embarrassed for some reason, tilted her head for a moment, wondering what was wrong with this situation.

However, she soon realized what Belfast’s intentions were and approached Echo in a hurry.

Edinburgh smiled sweetly as she walked over to the little Destroyer and crouched in front of her, while she was still looking down.

「If you don’t mind, how about you accompany us, Echo-chan? I’m sure that Her Majesty won’t mind one bit.」

Echo, who was invited to join the two of them by Edinburgh herself, looked up in surprise.

「I promised to show you around the Home Port, remember? And if memory serves me correctly, you are still pretty unfamiliar with that part of it, are you not?」

Just then, Echo’s expression, which had looked pretty lonely up until now, suddenly brightened considerably.

「…… Yes!」

She then hugged Edinburgh’s chest tightly with her arms and once she finally let go, she then grabbed Edinburgh’s outstretched hand.

「Thank you very much for that, Edinburgh-san! Ehehe!」

After watching the exchange between the two until the very end, Belfast said with a smile on her face.

「Well then, shall we be on our way now?」

* * *

When the three shipgirls arrived at the auditorium where Her Majesty was supposed to be waiting, Bel-chan guided the three of them as they moved forward.

「At the current moment, Her Majesty is together with Warspite-sama inside of the large auditorium. It seems that the two of them are in the middle of inspecting the big theater that is located there.」

「A theater? Why would they need to inspect that?」

As Edinburgh tilted her head in puzzlement, the three could see the double soundproof doors leading into the theater in question.

Belfast and Edinburgh each pushed open the thick door handles on the left and right of the center of the doors.

As for the doors itself, it was located at the rearmost side of the audience seats.

In the dim light of the spacious room, the first thing that caught the eyes of the three shipgirls was the audience seats lined up all across the room’s floor.

Beyond that, there was a gorgeous stage illuminated by countless spotlights.

「—— I see that you have finally come back home! Bel, and you as well, Edi!」

Elizabeth’s loud voice echoes from somewhere near the stage all the way to the back of the room.

As Belfast and Edinburgh wondered where Her Majesty was, Elizabeth slowly emerged from behind the stage with Warspite following suit.

At that moment Belfast curtsied in a flawless way.

Even Edinburgh, who was timid for a moment out there, hurriedly started to curtsy as well, and Echo, who was mesmerized by the performance of her two idols, mimicked their moves and did the exact same thing.

Elizabeth came to the center of the stage, her shoes clacking loudly against the wooden floorboards.

「Since you are already here, there is no need to sugarcoat things or hide anything. The truth is that —— Wait, huh?」

When Elizabeth saw Echo who was curtsying as well, for a moment she seemed confused, but then she clapped her hands together as if coming to understand something.

「Ah! That’s right! Come to think of it, Echo was also a part of that military consignment, right?」

「I-It’s an honor to meet you like this for the first time, Your Majesty! M-My name is Echo, and I am a Destroyer of the E Class!」

Just then Echo first straightens her back, after which she knelt down on one knee in front of Elizabeth. Seeing such an honest display, Elizabeth just smiled in an amused way.

「It’s okay, Echo, you don’t have to be so nervous. Originally I was going to discuss that matter with Bel and Edi, but……」

Elizabeth said, and then she muttered something under her nose.

「I will have to explain this matter to everyone else later, anyways, so I might as well use that as an opportunity for some practice…… Alright, since you are here, Echo, you can listen as well.」

Putting her hands on her waist, Elizabeth looked at Belfast and her company once again.

「Allow me to cut right to the chase, then! Actually, what I wanted to talk to you about today is related to the performances that each faction of the Home Port is going to show at this very theater during this year’s School Festival.」

Hearing Elziabeth’s words, especially the word “performance” in particular, Edinburgh’s expression became really puzzling, as if she had trouble understanding what she just heard..

「A performance that is going to be shown on this exact stage……? But Your Majesty, do we really have so much free time to do anything quite like this, especially with the Beauty Pageant being right around the corner?」

Hearing Edinburgh’s words, Elizabeth immediately shook her head.