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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 4 Chapter 2 Part 12

「Honestly, everyone here is pretty much inexperienced when it comes to writing scripts like that. Besides, don’t you have to do your very best so that the content of the script itself doesn’t turn out to be all silly?」

「Hm? What do you mean by that?」

Neptune, who was thinking deeply while putting her hand on her chin, raised her index finger and then told Belfast.

「Even us shipgirls can lose control when attacked all of a sudden. Even now, Her Majesty is in a situation where she is struggling all by herself while being surrounded by the manuscripts in the sea of words. …… If so, after all, I think we have no choice but to move forward while adjusting the stress of her work and making sure that it stays as close to zero as possible.」

「Steering Her Majesty in the right way at all times, huh?」

When Belfast answered so vaguely like that, Ajax herself all of a sudden smiled in a mischievous way, as if she just managed to think of something really interesting.

「I just so happened to think of something really good.」

***

The number of days left until the beginning of the School Festival: sixteen.

「—— Work Confinement? What the hell is that even supposed to be?」

The very next day, Belfast bowed her head down deeply to Elizabeth, who was still blowing soap bubbles through the window inside of her office, seemingly having done no progress on the manuscript she was supposed to write.

「Yes, that’s right. It is the method that Ajax-sama suggested to us yesterday. Apparently if you subject the writer to solitary confinement, only promising to let them out upon finishing their assigned work, you can see a drastic increase in one’s productivity that way.」

「Is there really such a magic strategy out there? That sounds really far-fetched to me.」

After Elizabeth put away her soap bubble set, she excitedly came towards Belfast.

「According to what you have discussed together with Hood’s group, the deadline for the introductory part is in three days’ time, right?」

Belfast carefully remembered what Hood had said as she braced herself for facing Elizabeth in what was inevitable to come.

「Yes, that’s right. This is why it is imperative that starting from today onwards, Your Majesty needs to finish writing the Introductory part in three days’ time. Otherwise, it will be pretty much impossible for the Casting Team to practice the stage play and make it be the best thing ever that it is supposed to be.

「That’s way too harsh, no matter how you look at it…… but since things are urgent, so let’s do that Confinement thing right now! What do you want me to do now?」

「Well then, if you would please follow me, Your Majesty. I am going to take you there right away ——」

After leaving the office, the two of them went straight out of the Royal Navy’s Dormitory and went somewhere else.

The place that Belfast and Elizabeth arrived at was the Great Library.

「What are we going to do in the library, Bel?」

Belfast continues to guide Elizabeth, who would twist her neck in puzzlement over and over again.

In the back of the library, there was a staircase that led to the basement of the building, and down there was a closed room used for storage. It was a very simple space where a bare minimum of furniture was prepared in advance: a desk, a chair, and a desk lamp. That was all there was to this room.

「……… Huh?」

Elizabeth also involuntarily mumbled while being at a loss for her words. If it was just an environment like that, no matter how you would look at it, it was something that was way below what would be called the acceptable standard.

「Here in this specially prepared space, Your Highness can shake off any kind of distraction and be immersed in your work without anything bothering you.」

Even the chair itself was a simple wooden one, something that was way cheeper than the furniture that Elizabeth would have in her office. Of course, its design was also leaving much to be desired.

「Are you bring serious with me here…… Bel?」

To Elizabeth’s sudden question, Belfast returned the quiet answer.

「The deadline is three days from now, Your Majesty. Please make sure to finish it before that appointed time.」

「Uuuhhh~~~!!!」

Elizabeth shuddered while she was taking the sight right in front of her eyes, as it was something that she would never possibly expect, even in her wildest dreams and fantasies.

「T-Three days, huh!? And if I manage to complete it in three days, I get to get out of here, right!?」

To that question, Belfast only silently nodded her head.

「…… Guh! W-Well then, I just have to get my act together and just do it! I will show you! I will do it, you’ll see!」

Elizabeth proclaimed it out loud as she sat down in that simple chair, feeling frustrated beyond belief for some reason as she picked up her pen and started writing.

「Your Majesty, please do your best.」

While watching the situation developing behind her, Belfast remembered Ajax’s words from yesterday in her mind ——

—— Belfast was thinking about what could that “good thing” that Ajax just mentioned possibly be,

「It’s about confinement.」

「Confinement? Don’t you mean like, a canned food?」

Belfast did not understand what Ajax was proud of, speaking about canned food all of a sudden, and she cocked her head in puzzlement.

「Speaking of canned food, you mean the one that is placed inside of a can with lots of preservatives and……」

「No, no, no. That’s where the etymology of the word comes from, but the meaning is different. It’s actually called “Confinement Work”.」

「What do you mean like that?」

Neptune also seemed to be piqued in curiosity, so she asked that out loud.

「I have heard that it’s a very effective method to use for novelists and manga artists who can’t meet their deadlines continuously. Until they finish writing their pieces properly, they are being put in a state of soft restraint and thoroughly manage their work in that state.」

「This girl has somehow come up with an outrageous method completely out of the blue!?」

Achilles screams while flipping over her arms.

「But there’s no better way than this, isn’t there? Just like Neptune said earlier, I don’t think it’s likely that the manuscript will be finished in time even if you don’t do this or that if you’re constantly by Her Majesty’s side, steering her in the right direction like a small child.」

Ajax said so with a very happy expression on her face for some reason.

「So? What will you do now, Belfast?」

As Belfast listened to her words, a suspicion arose inside of her for some reason.

「I think that this method has the potential to be really effective…… but I also see one problem with it.」

「A problem?」

「Yes. That is to say, even if Her Majesty is to be confined like that, it is a question of how long this state is going to last.」

「Of course it’s going to be decided by the time she is finished with her assigned work. When else?」

Belfast immediately shook her head in response to Ajax’s natural response.

「The deadline for the entire work to be finished is in ten days from now on. I wonder if it really is going to be possible to keep Her Majesty confined in one place for that long? Being in closed space like that surely is going to be mentally taxing, and there must be the upper limit how long one person is going to be able to withstand such confinement.」

「Then, why not just tell her that the deadline is in three days from now on?」

Even Belfast was at a loss for words to that.

It was yet another shocking remark. She has heard somewhere that it is a common editorial practice to manipulate deadlines like that, and even once the deadline is over, to add yet another one for the author, but

「Editors around the world, you are such liars!」

Once again Achilles raised her voice while flailing her hands around.

「So, at first we will tell Her Majesty that the deadline is in three days from now on. If she won’t be able to meet that deadline, we will extend it to five days. And if she still won’t be able to do it, we can extend it to seven days. All the way until the ten days that are our actual deadline.」

「And people have the gall to call me a demon, huh……?」」

Neptune’s sarcasm was so easy to perceive here, in response to which Ajax looked at Belfast once more.