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Azur Lane: Episode of Belfast Volume 4 Chapter 3 Part 5

It was then that Hood could hear the faint sound of Cygnet moving closer towards the door.

「So you see, I am not at all like people tend to describe me. Even though I might look calm, I am actually always anxious and frightened of what the results of my actions could be…… So I’m really just like you to some extent, Cygnet-chanb. That is why ——」

Hood gently put her hand on the waiting room’s door.

「—— That is why we must support one another to get through the hard times together, you and I…… Hood-nee-sama……」

That’s when Hood thought she could finally hear Cygnet’s voice from the other side of the door.

Gugyururururu!!!

At that exact moment, both Hood and Cygnet’s stomachs rumbled out loud in unison.

「Guess it cannot really be helped. We have waited here for so long that it’s hardly surprising we are all hungry.」

While Hood was doing her best of letting her own heart and soul out in front of Cygnet to witness, King George V interjected her words like that.

「…… Pfffh.」

But then a sudden gasp like that unintentionally happened to escape from Hood’s mouth.

「…… I guess that even though we might have our share of problems, we still do get hungry, huh? Seriously.」

After muttering those words to herself, Hood could hear Cygnet once again raising her voice through the waiting room’s door.

「Something smells delicious here……」

At that point, Hood also puffed her nose and sniffed a few times in a quick succession.

Certainly, something in here had a very unique scent to it with a hint of citrus, alongside a very sweet and sugary scent.

「…… Uuuhh. It smells like sweets…… But where? Where is that sweet smell coming from?

Javelin awoke from her nap in an instant, rubbing her eyes with her hands and looking around in search of the source of the sweet smell.

Also, because the four shipgirls who happened to be here were so unbelievably hungry at the current moment, that smell was truly unbearable for them, making them realize just how hungry they actually all were.

「—— Everyone, thank you so much for waiting for me to return. I have brought tea and some sweets for all of you.」

Just then Belfast approached Hood and company while pushing a serving cart in front of her.

On top of the serving cart that was slowly being pushed forward, there was a teapot, some tea cups for just the right number of people present here, and plates with sweets on top of them.

「Hmm, while I understand why you would want to bring us some tea, but what about those sweets all of a sudden……?」

The moment Hood asked that question,, an unfamiliar shipgirl jumped out from behind Belfast and proceeded to answer that matter.

「Yes, yes, yes! That is a very good question! Very good, indeed! Please allow this here Le Témeraire to explain what this particular dessert is all about!」

After cheerfully introducing himself in such a manner, Le Témeraire presented Hood with a plate of sweets that they just happened to bring.

It looked like a dessert made by making a sweet and sandy tart in a mold in advance and then filling it with something that looked like ice cream or whipped cream.

「This here is a dessert called Vacherin, which uses oranges as one of its main ingredients! It also uses vervese leaves as an ingredient, which makes the whole dessert smell like lemons! Isn’t it amazing!? It’s one of the staple desserts that Dunkirque makes all the time!」

「Then we have meringue, ice cream, and chantilly cream which are all arranged neatly on a plate, and the ice cream sorbet to finish it all off…… As a result, not only does it smell good, but it also looks really cute.」

When Hood took the plate and stared at it for a while, there was the sound of the waiting room’s door becoming unlocked, and much to everyone’s surprise, Cygnet came out of the waiting room with her nose all puffing as she was inhaling the smell of the sweets.

「I…… I would also like to give those sweets a try…… if it’s not a problem.」

Belfast smiled brightly and handed Cygnet a plate of Vacherin sweets on it.

「But since I have caused everyone so much trouble in the last couple of days, and especially today…… Is it really alright for me to be just…… eating such a delicious-looking thing?」

Seeing Cygnet looking all down in the dumps because of her shortcomings, King George V also received a plate of sweets and then she addressed Cygnet right away..

「No need to be shy about it, after all, we are all in this together, aren’t we? So don’t beat yourself up over it too much.」

「And since the performance is right behind the corner, I feel that everyone is a little bit more on edge than we would have all liked.」

Belfast then met Emile’s eyes for a moment there.

In response, Emile made a small circle with her fingers.

Belfast had no idea if the scent of the sweets really had any effect in here, but she certainly felt that the atmosphere managed to become much better than before for some bizarre reason.

Looking at the clock that was hanging on the wall, the date was just about to change in just ten minutes or so.

Considering the rest of the cast already went back to their respective rooms to get some rest before the actual performance, they would probably not be able to continue practicing for today. After all, before Belfast was worried that they might not be able to practice the play all the way until the very end, but right now that it’s become like this, there was nothing anyone in here could do about it.

「…… If you think about it, there was never a situation where you could feel safe from the beginning until the end. That would just be wishful thinking.」

Belfast unintentionally dropped her shoulders and muttered to herself like that.

All that was left for them to do was to do the things that they were able to do properly.

However, at the current moment Belfast knew that she had nothing to worry about, and that everything was going to turn out alright.

And as to why she thought that way, that’s because ——

「…… So delicious.」

Looking at Cygnet right about now, who was showing a smile with her face swollen from tears that she shed before, and Hood was also carrying the sweets into her mouth with a relaxed and happy manner.

「…… No matter what hardships you may face, as long as you have delicious food in your stomach that you can share with others, you are going to be alright.」

It seems that Hood and Cygnet were closer to one another thanks to this little incident than ever before.

She then wondered if there was some sort of a special exchange between the two of them while she was busy making those sweets.

And while Belfast was thinking to herself like that,

「……Just for tomorrow’s sake, I am going to become “Cygnet the Mighty”.」

When Cygnet said those words, Belfast could see that Hood’s hand came to a sudden halt for some reason.

When Belfast wondered what those words of Cygnet were exactly supposed to mean,

「And then…… I would like to eat those sweets again as a reward for all of my hard work.」

Saying that, Cygnet lifted up the plate and smiled at Belfast.

Seeing that, Hood nodded with a bright grin,

「Yes, that’s right. In that case, I am going to put everything that I have into making that fresh batch for you.」

Thinking that there was nothing else to be said in between the two of them here, Belfast bowed her head politely and listened to Cygnet’s wish.

* * *

「——-Wake up! Wake up, Edinburgh-san! It’s the morning of the School Festival!」

「Hiyaah!?」

Still lying peacefully in her bed, the body of Edinburgh, who had been sound asleep until a moment ago, was shaken violently. When she opened her eyes up in a hurry, she could see that there was a small figure standing by her bed.

「W-Why are you here so early in the morning, Echo……? Please don’t tell me that you wish to conduct yet another early interview like the last time……?」

Despite the sleepy eyes of Edinburgh, Belfast opened the curtains in their room and answered her older sister.

「It was actually a direct order from Her Majesty to wake everyone up early, and for all the members of the Royal Navy who are involved in the stage play to gather up inside of the Grand Auditorium first thing in the morning. As for Echo-chan, she just happened to pass me by in the hallway, and she asked if she could wake you up, Nee-san, in case you were going to oversleep.」