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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 4 Chapter 3 Part 3

「What do you mean by that?」

To King George V, whose face turned grim upon hearing those words, Belfast began to talk about her past experiences.

「I think this is not actually the first time when Cygnet-san happened to lose her confidence like that. And this ravenous hunger that she seems to be feeling right now? It must be something akin to a switch or trigger to her. I think that all this time she must have been under a tremendous amount of pressure, wouldn’t you agree?」

At the same time, Javelin, who had come to see how things were going with Cygnet, cheerfully raised her hand in the air.

「That’s right! Cygnet-chan, if I recall correctly, she was really worried about whether she could really be the leading role in the play, and if she was going to meet everyone’s expectations.」

King George V heard what Javelin said just now and put her hand to her chin while being lost in her thoughts.

「Then what do you think we are supposed to do in this situation?」

「Well, that’s actually really easy.」

It was actually none other than Hood who opened her mouth and spoke up in that moment.

「… Cygnet-chan, how about I take a moment to elaborate on the reason why I chose you to be the recommended person for the leading role?」

Hearing Hood’s voice, Cygnet made a quiet noise from behind the other side of the door.

「When I happened to read Her Majesty’s script based on the story of the “Ghost Maid”, I thought I could not think of anyone other than Cygnet-chan to play the leading role. There is no other shipgirl more suitable than you to play the role of the long-talked-for and beloved girl in the entire Home Port. That was my line of reasoning at the time.」

「But that’s how…… That’s how you always are, Hood-nee-sama, so……」

「No, while it might be true, this time around I honestly thought that. Cygnet-chan, do you know what the origin of your name is? Or for how long it was known to our Royal Navy?」

「Huh……?」

Hood then gently spoke to Cygnet through the closed waiting room door, trying to appeal to her as gently as possible.

「The origin of the name ‘Cygnet’ means ‘White Raven Chick’. Many ships have been built with this exact name before across the vast history of the Royal Navy. Do you happen to know why?」

「No, I…… I don’t know.」

「And it’s because all of those ships have done great deeds in their respective time. And besides, it’s a traditional name, and I personally like the sound of it really much. As I am sure that you do, too…… I also think that you are destined to do some great things. I am sure of it.」

Hood then put her forehead against the waiting room’s door and she give Cygnet a soft smile.

Belfast let out a deep sigh while everyone present looked somewhat relieved from hearing that explanation.

「…… Hood-sama, don’t you think that what you have said just now was really counterproductive?」

「Huh?」

「Due to Cygnet-san’s personality, I thought that saying something like that would only serve to increase the pressure that she was already feeling way too much……」

As expected, a trembling voice mixed with tears could be heard from the other side of the door.

「I……But I am not all that great to begin with…… I cannot accomplish anything great on my own like that……!!」

And then the loud sound of crying could be heard coming from the waiting room.

King George V then looked at Hood in astonishment.

「Hmph…… See? This is what happens when you try to lie to someone, and you are doing a poor job at that. If you were to say from the beginning that you wanted to see Cygnet in the lead role simply because you thought that she would look cute that way, that would have been a whole lot more convincing.」.

「W-Wha!?」

At that moment Hood’s face turned bright red with embarrassment.

「W-What are you saying all of a sudden, George!? Why would I want to lie here!? And stop saying things that might be misunderstood so easily!」

「But was it not you who said it before? That when Cygnet is acting all shy and embarrassed, that she looks the cutest that way? And that she has the kind of face that would make you want to order her to say all sort of dirty and embarrassing things as punishment in a Punishment Game?」

Hood then suddenly let out a loud, unnatural cough, interrupting King George V’s words with her own.

「G-Goodness gracious, talk about an opinion that was completely out of place! There is both time and place for things like that, you know? There is no way that I would actually…… I-I mean, this is…… There is no way I would ever want to force someone as cute as Cygnet to say anything pervy or anything like that! But that being said, Cygnet-chan’s face sure is cute, wouldn’t you all agree? But her embarrassed face is also pretty nice, to the point where you would want to bully her ever so slightly just so that you could witness that face of hers……」

At that moment, Hood suddenly came back to her senses.

Belfast and King George V, including the other members of the cast, were at a loss for words from what they just heard. No one really expected to hear of such an unexpected side of Hood, seeing her with a bright red face. It was enough to make everyone feel stunned.

「O-Oh my, is it just me, or has it gotten really hot in here all of a sudden for some reason……?」

While Hood was fanning her face with her hands slightly, she gently turned her back on everyone present.

「But we surely cannot leave things the way they are now.」

Belfast muttered those words more to herself rather than anyone else in particular.

When she was thinking about some kind of a breakthrough method for the predicament in which they were currently in, and the one that was looming over them since the time of the script-writing,

「—— Say, I am actually starting to get hungry myself, you know?」

Emile Bertin called out to everyone in order to break the sudden tension that was hanging in the air above everyone’s heads.

「I just want the Head Maid of the Maid Corps to prepare delicious tea and sweets for all of us to enjoy together!」

Belfast nodded at Emile Bertin’s request while she glanced at her.

「Oh well, it might be as good of a time as any to have some break over some tea.」

Since they have gotten so off-topic here, I might have been wise of them to actually take a break in order to look at things from a slightly different perspective.

But just as Belfast was thinking about what to offer for everyone to eat and drink, Emile Bertin suddenly pulled up her sleeves.

「Hmm? What happened, Emile-san?」

「Well, seeing that you have Edinburgh’s face, I got this strange urge to go and help you out, you know?」

When Belfast saw Emile Bertin grinning broadly, she suddenly had a flash of epiphany completely out of the blue.

「Emile-san, if only I could…… 」

When Belfast explained the situation to her in a hurry, Emile grinned even brighter.

「If that’s the case, then I know some people who are just the kind of help that we might need. Let’s try asking them for help!」

* * *

When Belfast and Emile returned to the kitchen, the other Iris Libre shipgirls who had come to help in preparation of the meal were already gone, and Edinburgh and Suffolk remained on the spot to clean up.

「Oh, Bel, welcome back…… Emile? What are you doing here?」

「Long time no see, Edinburgh!」

Waving her hand at Edinburgh, Emile came into the kitchen as if she owned the place.

「What’s wrong? For you to come to the kitchen like that……」

「But I’m not the only one, you know?」

Saying that, Emile moved her body to the right and,

「—— So this is what a kitchen of the Royal Maids looks like, huh?」

A girl with long golden hair came to the kitchen with a cheerful spitting voice.

When Edinburgh and Suffolk looked all puzzled at the sight of an unfamiliar face that said that,

「Ah! That’s right! I haven’t even introduced myself yet!」

After saying that, she turned around and bowed as if she remembered something.

「My name is La Temeriere, the Le Hardi Class Destroyer belonging to Iris Libre! I have been invited here by Belfast-san and Emile. I am going to make some Iris Libre’s sweets that I am so proud of!」