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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 4 Chapter 2 Part 14

When Belfast raised her head to ask her about that, Elizabeth leaned back in shock in her chair.

「I-I, well…… I am well aware that every story needs a catharsis to be truly complete.」

「We have been correcting mistakes and deficits at least several times before…… Are you really okay, Your Majesty?」

「N-No need to worry! It’s going to be one huge reversal from here on out! Just you sit and wait!」

Belfast continued to read the rest of the manuscript, even though she was getting more and more suspicious of what Elizabeth was saying.

—— In a situation of utter desperation Boo-san is finally hit directly by Siren’s fierce bombardment. In the sea of ​​flames that rises violently all around her, Boo-san loses the sight of her comrades and even the fleet that they should be pursuing, and before long she passess out from the injuries that she had sustained.

Boo-san then wakes up on the unfamiliar shore of an unknown island.

「Where is this place……?」

Enduring the pain spilling all over her body, she eventually manages to get up, only to see that all of her friends and comrades are nowhere to be seen.

Just how far has she been swept away from the battlefield?

「——Ah!」

There, in the shadows far from the coast, Boo-san discovers that there is “something” watching her all this time.

Noticing that Boo managed to become aware of the “something’s” existence, it hastily retreats deeper into the island, away from the shoreline.

「Wait! Please, come back!」

When Boo started to go forward to chase that “something”, the wounds all over her body started to ache so much that she had to crouch down.

Then, that mysterious “something” saw that she was in pain, and instead of trying to run away again, it slowly approached her with caution.

「You, you are……」

When Boo was able to finally see the “something” that tried to run away from her just a moment ago, she was able to realize what it really was.

That “something” that was lurking in the shadows before was actually a Manjuu.

And upon seeing the wounded Boo, Manjuu helped her to get back up on her feet and it started to guide her somewhere.

「H-Hey! Wait a moment! Where do you think you’re taking me!?」

Not knowing what to do about this whole situation, Boo could only drag her feet along, hoping for the best.

Apparently, the place where she drifted ashore was like a deserted island in the middle of the ocean. It seems that the Manju was trying to take Boo to the center of the island, where a safe hideout and food were prepared for her in what appeared to be a temporary shelter. Or at the very least, Boo was hoping that it was something like that.

With the Manjuu’s help, Boo would eventually reach the hideout, where she happened to see something that was truly unbelievable.

「…… Rei-san? Could it be…… Is that really you!? Rei-san!?」

Manjuu had taken Boo to its hideout in the center of the island, where Boo was able to find Rei, who was severely injured, but apparently safe.

After reuniting with Rei, especially after losing all forms of contact with her for so long, Boo managed to forget all about the pain of her wounds and tried to run over to her beloved friend.

However, the way in which Rei reacted to seeing Boo was something that would also be completely unbelievable.

「You…… Who are you?」

It would seem that Rei has lost her memory as a result of her wounds in the previous battle.

In addition, it would also seem that her Wisdom Cube, the core of every shipgirl’s being, was also severely damaged, and her body would not last long at its current state.

And faced with the gravity of the situation that she had found herself facing at the current moment, Boo-san could feel that the world right in front of her eyes was turning all black and dark ——

Even Belfast could feel as though her vision would black out at any moment now from reading that script.

「At the rate in which things are going…… Obtaining a happy ending might prove to be impossible here.」

However, it was already the night of the third day. She had to take that into account.

They could no longer afford to throw away any parts of the script, not after going so far with it. Of course, there was always the possibility of extending the deadline for two more days, but that was the last resort solution.

The true deadline according to Hood was ten days later, and since the introduction to the three-act structure had already been completed, it was possible to hand over only a small part of the manuscript that was already approved.

—— But…… For Her Majesty to rewrite it once again like that, is she really going to make it until the fifth night?

And above all else, there was yet another matter that was still awaiting them, one that was even tougher than the current problem that they were facing.

「Bel, you see…… I am almost at my limit here, so……」

When Belfast raised her face upon hearing Elizabeth say that, Elizabeth was looking at her with tears welling up in her eyes.

「……I want to go back to my own room in the dorm right now so badly! I want to sleep soundly in my own fluffy bed until noon the next day! I want to drink some fresh and delicious tea while eating some sweet and colorful sweets…… Ufufu…… I am really looking forward to it, you know?」

「Your Majesty, are you really sure you’re okay?」

As expected, the stress of the Confinement Work was finally starting to reach critical levels and taking its toll on both Elizabeth’s mind and body.

Not only that, but it was becoming difficult for Belfast herself to dedicate herself to playing the part of the demon editor any longer. She was also about to reach her limit soon.

To be honest, Belfast was very grateful to Elizabeth for being able to work so hard all this time all alone and without any help. Because deep inside Belfast knew that she was doing her best to fulfill her own desire of seeing both Boo-san and Rei-san happy.

「Which is why…… I don’t want to force Her Majesty to do any more work than it is necessary……」

But if that was the case, then whatever it is that she should do here?

While Belfast was desperately searching for some sort of a solution, what managed to catch her eye was Echo’s notepad.

「Can I borrow this for a moment, Your Majesty?」

When she asked her that, Elizabeth simply nodded her head.

Belfast then scrutinized the contents written in the notepad, looking for anything that might be a hint that she needed so desperately right now.

Then, her eyes stopped at a certain page.

「…… This is it! Based on this content……!」

It was during the Pancake Race with Neptune. It was probably something Newcastle said when everyone was talking about various episodes just the other day.

「Your Majesty! Just a little bit more, just a little bit more and I promise you that this is going to be over with!」

With this, there would be no need to actually rewrite everything in the manuscript, just a few changes could dramatically change the type of content they would be creating.

Thinking like that, Belfast presented Elizabeth with a revised proposal based on her past experiences.

「…… The part that needs to be corrected is where Boo-san got to the island. Actually, the uninhabited island that Boo-san landed on was an island for coastwatchers made by the Manjuu who came from the Home Port. 」

On the island where Neptune and the others were serving the tea, desks and chairs were prepared for the Coastwatchers, and there they found Ark Royal’s forgotten items as well.

From there, they would simply combine both episodes that Kent and Suffolk mentioned.

「The Manjuu, who saw Boo in her maid outfit, thought that she came to the island to help it make some sweets, and so it guided her to the hideout. And there, she meets Rei-san, who lost her memory.」

「Making sweets…? What does that have to do with everything else? I don’t get it.」

Belfast continued to explain to Elizabeth, who apparently was unable to perceive where Belfast was going with this story.

「So, even though Boo-san was worried about Rei-san, she did as the Manjuu told her and stirred the whipped cream in the bowl…and then the bowl went flying away.」

Just like in the episode when Suffolk regained her memories, Rei would regain her memories thanks to a blunt force trauma to the head, and together with Boo they would join up with the Great Fleet to battle the Sirens once again.