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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 4 Chapter 2 Part 8

Hmm, I see, Belfast thought to herself. In other words, the girl who just left the meeting room pulled the white ping-pong ball that meant that she did not “pass”, huh?

「Everyone, here’s the lottery! And please remember that the play has a limited cast of actors, so it’s a ‘First-Come-First-Served!’ rule!

Led by King George V’s words, a long line formed across the conference room.

「On that note, Belfast: I have been wondering…… is that amount of cast really going to be enough?」

King George V flashed a piece of paper in front of Belfast’s face.

On that piece of paper there was a number of cast members and their respective roles, written in Elizabeth’s neat handwriting.

「You see, both King George V and I have only heard a brief synopsis from His Majesty at best. All we know is that the story is based on gossip about the Ghost Maid that has been circulating around the Home Port for a while now.」

Hood looked at Belfast with a worried expression on her face.

「Other than the two main characters, the roles of the other cast members seem way too ambiguous to me…… And I am afraid that without actually reading through the script, there is nothing that we can do about that fact.」

「Yes, I imagine that this is the kind of problem that cannot be easily resolved.」

When Belfast said that to herself rather than to anyone in particular, Hood crossed her arms on her chest and only muttered ‘Exactly’.

Belfast assumed that Hood and King George V would want to work with a manuscript of some sort. It would certainly make their work easier, even if it was being delivered in little bits at a time.

「Alright, I understand. I will go to Her Majesty at once and see what I can get for the two of you.」

When Belfast answered like that, Curacoa, who was right next to her, gave her a wry smile.

「Apparently, some sort of Acting Instructor is going to pay you a visit sometime later. So I guess it would be for the best if we managed to get that visit to Her Majesty all done by that time.」

At that exact moment, Javelin came right up to King George V and rummaged through the box in her hands.

「Uuuhh~…… Javelin, I really, really want to be in that stage play~」

She closed her eyes tightly as if she was praying for something, and then stirred the inside of the box with her hands over and over again.

And then,

「T-This is it! The moment of truth! Here goes nothing!」

Pulling her hand out of the box, Javelin opens her still closed eyes ever so slightly.

And what was resting at the top of the palm of her hand……

「…… Wawawah! R-Red! It’s red! RED!!! I did it! I DID IT!!!!!!」

「Alright! Javelin just got in! Now, who is going to be the next one?」

While King George V said that, there was a round of applause going through the conference room. At the same time, Hood, while still clapping her hands, turned towards Belfast

「Well then, if you could ask Her Majesty about that manuscript, I would really appreciate it.」

「Understood. Just leave it to us, Hood-sama.」

As Belfast would go and do that, Curacoa would remain here to confirm the achievement of other goals that the Cast Team was supposed to accomplish throughout the day today.

「Ugh~…… Both Crescent and Comet said they wanted to act in the play, so I came along with them, but…… but when I think about it, I can’t do anything like acting at all! Not in front of everyone in the port!」

While listening to Cygnet’s voice of complaints as she was trying to pull the right ball from inside the box, Belfast left the conference room and headed for Elizabeth’s office.

* * *

When Belfast got to Elizabeth’s office, she knocked lightly onto the door and waited for a response.

「—— Yes, please come in.」

As soon as she heard Elizabeth’s voice, Belfast opened the door and stepped inside of her office.

「Please excuse me, Your Majesty, I came here to check the progress on the manuscript that you are writing ——」

After Belfast did a curtsy, and when she looked up, she would find herself at a loss for words.

As expected, it was not all that unreasonable to see this scene that was right in front of her eyes.

「…… Your Highness? Where is the manuscript that you were supposed to be writing?」

Elizabeth had opened the window behind her desk and was blowing soap bubbles out through it. And that behavior was in direct contradiction to the words that she had spoken yesterday at the library.

What was left on top of her desk was a blank piece of manuscript paper.

「The manuscript it…… Just the way that you can see it.」

While showing her back to Belfast, Elizabeth threw another portion of the soup bubbles out the window,

Many small soap bubbles were already dancing in the sky, shining brightly in the sunlight.

What a lovely afternoon it was shaping up to be.

It was so peaceful that you could even hear the chirping of the birds on the nearby trees if you were to listen carefully..

Except, of course, the fact that the manuscript was not yet finished.

「Nice weather we have today…… … Today, I think that I am going to go with a sandwich for lunch and then go on a little picnic…… Yes, I should go on vacation, I really deserve it…… Ufufu.」

Averting her eyes from Elizabeth who continued blowing soap bubbles while laughing at her own words, Belfast called out to Warspite who was next to Her Majesty’s desk.

「Warspite, about what Her Majesty is doing……」

「Trying to escape reality, as you can clearly see.」

Warspite then just shrugged her shoulders.

「…… And why is she even doing that?」

「According to her own words, it is because of a slump.」

Warspite did not seem to be that particularly shocked or concerned with Elizabeth’s current state of mind. And from the way in which she said those words, she must have probably called out to Elizabeth at least several times before Belfast arrived here. Does that mean that she basically gave up on the idea of bringing Elizabeth back to reality after being unsuccessful for so long?

「I even started writing that bloody manuscript script as soon as I got back from the dining hall yesterday.」

Elizabeth spoke as she flew soap bubbles in the air as usual.

「If it’s the proof you want so badly, it’s right there. At the table. Why don’t you see for yourself?」

As instructed, Belfast approached the reception table.

When she did, there were certainly some manuscripts that looked like they were finished just lying over there.

「They look to be pretty much finished to me, though……?」

「No, no they are not.」

Belfast tilted her head to Elizabeth’s mysterious remarks, which were answered in a way as if she was denying her own words.

「Umm…… What do you mean, Your Majesty? I think that those manuscripts look well-written enough.」

「That’s a botched manuscript over there.」

Warspite answered on behalf of Elizabeth, who was trying to make a large soap bubble right about now.

「Botched, huh……?」

Belfast has never written a script before, so she would not really know if it was botched or not, but no matter how good the content was, the manuscript was an essential part for deciding on the cast.

「I just talked to Hood-san from the Cast Team. If I don’t get them the manuscript soon, they won’t be able to start practicing the stage play, so I would like to have something that shows the cast at the very least, even if it’s just a little bit.」

Saying so, Belfast tried to reach out towards the manuscript that was placed on top of the table.

But then, Elizabeth, who was clinging to the window just a moment ago, flew at an incredible speed towards the table and snatched the manuscript in her hands before Belfast was able to get it..

「A-A no means no! I’ve been telling you for a while now, but I don’t want anyone reading the manuscript just yet!」

「Well, Your Majesty, I most certainly did not hear you say the words “don’t read” for a past while, but……」

「R-Really? W-Well then! I’m saying it now! Don’t look! I don’t want anyone reading it just yet!」

「But Your Majesty……」

「It’s still not perfected yet, alright!? I can still be improved! I know it!」

「However, Your Majesty, at this rate, we won’t be able to make it in time with the stage play if you keep on revising the script.」