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

Naturally, emergency orders were issued to all ships in the Home Port, Boo-san included.

「I’m going too! I’m sortieing to help Rei-san!」

Boo-san said strongly.

However…… She was the only one who happened to receive special orders regarding that mission.

It was an order for her to return to the main Royal Navy’s island.

She was instructed to undertake a special mission that only she could do.

「No! I don’t want to! I’m worried about Rei-san!」

However, no matter how many times she tried to refuse the orders and go after Rei-san, the decision was already set in stone and would not be overturned.

And now it was finally the time to say goodbye to everyone in the Home Port.

Boo-san’s smile, which had brightened up the Home Port until now, was completely gone from her face, and everyone was saddened to say goodbye to her in such a manner.

「Everyone, please, don’t cry…… It will only make me want to cry as well……」

That was the only thing that Boo-san was able to say.

A large bouquet of flowers was then handed to her, a sign of gratitude from everyone else for the sheer amount of devotion that Boo-san showed to her work as a maid.

And then Boo-san simply left the Home Port all alone.

「…… What the hell? What the hell was that supposed to be!?」

Elizabeth squeezed her fist tightly upon hearing that part of the story.

「This is not the ending at all! This way…… This way nothing gets solved! Such an ending would be better off not being written at all!」

「…… I know how you feel, Your Majesty, but this is, without a doubt, the missing part of the picture book.」

Erebus said so in a cold, as-a-matter-of-fact tone.

Belfast continued to stare at the last sheet of paper in her hands.

The words written on that page were exactly as the ones she spoke just now, followed by the lone “The End” at the very end of the page, indicating that this was indeed the end of the story.

「No matter how much I look at it, the fact that things never changed for the two of them…… I don’t know. It doesn’t seem right.」

Belfast unconsciously said so before she even knew what she was doing.

「What do you mean, it doesn’t seem right?」

Erebus asked her frankly.

「Even though she was so opposed to following the orders to go back home…… Why did Boo-san decided to follow through with them in the end?」

Belfast murmured those words while staring at the decaying paper in her hands.

Then Elizabeth suddenly stood up as if she had realized something important.

「Y-Yeah, that’s right! I’m sure it must have been something like this! As far as the punchlines go, this one is really something that is anti-climactic, especially for a story about a Ghost Maid! And besides, no one would have liked an ending like that, so the author of the picture book must have removed it after the fact, actually hoping for the story to have a happy ending! Yeah, that has to be it! So, it’s decided now!」

Hearing that, Erebus slowly shook her head and flipped through the notebook in her hands.

「From what I have read in here, I can only think that the actual Boo-san must have been more resigned to her fate than we think.」

「…… What do you mean by that?」

When Belfast asked, Erebus said with a sigh.

「The contents of the picture book are the actual facts of that time. The notebook is the diary that Boo-san has been writing ever since she first arrived at the Home Port. When I read it, it was mostly the same as the story that the picture book told. The reason she wrote the picture book in the first place was to make a gift for Rei-san so that she could always remember the fun days they have spent together here. She said she intended to give it to her before she set sail on that mission, but she did not know how to finish it, so she did not make it in time.」

On the way back to the main Royal Navy island, Rei-san was attacked by a Siren and ever since then her whereabouts were largely unknown.

Before long, Boo-san was ordered to return to the main Royal Navy island via a different route, and it was said that she was desperately thinking about how to end the picture book in the short time she spent in the Home Port with everyone else.

「But in the end, she was unable to make a proper happy ending to this picture book, so she simply decided to keep straight to the facts of what actually transpired here…… And on the very last page of her diary, she wrote as follows ——」

—— I am going to leave the unfinished picture book behind, because the days we have spent here happily together will remain in the Home Port forever that way.

「So, does that mean…… She ultimately gave up on the picture book having an ending in the first place?」

Belfast mumbled something like that to herself, to which Erebus closed the notebook she was holding onto and looked at her.

「Yes, that’s right. Because you see, as long as you do not continue on with the story, it is effectively as if the time had come to a halt. If you want to be happy forever, it’s better to tear the story in the middle and stop the rest from appearing rather than poorly writing the facts afterward, which would make everyone, including yourself, unhappy ——」

Erebus looked as if she wanted to say something more here, but she stopped herself from doing that.

「—— Belfast. As per your earlier request, I have helped you to find the Ghost Maid that was rumored to roam about the Home Port.」

She then looked Belfast straight in the eyes.

「However, is this what you were hoping to find? Such a tragedy instead of a heartwarming story with a happy ending?」

To such words coming from Erebus’s mouth, Belfast found herself unable to answer them. And then,

「—— Bel! And everyone else! I really need you all to come and help me! Right away!」

Suddenly Edinburgh appeared through the door and called out to everyone in the waiting room.

* * *

Edinburgh headed for the wings of the stage with everyone else in tow.

When you were looking at the stage once again, it was nothing short of a jumbled mess.

Parts of everyone’s riggings were littering the stage all over, the plywood with Sirens drawn on them were in splinters, and and the parasol that had been prepared as props, as well as the corrugated palm trees that were going to be used when Boo-san would be washed ashore of the uninhabited island, were also crushed and lost their original shape, unable to be mended back to their original shape.

「Anyways, if you don’t hurry up and clean it all up here, we won’t be able to make it in time, so I want everyone to split up and clean the stage up while there is still time to do so! It’s impossible for the Tool-Making Team to do this on our own!」

Edinburgh announced the cleaning order just like that.

But where do they even start with this literal warzone?

When Belfast was actually pondering that matter for a moment,

「…… H-Head Maid?」

Sirius, who was sitting at the side of the stage, stood up as soon as she saw Belfast and approached her.

「What’s the matter, Sirius?」

「A-Actually…… Edinburgh-san helped me when I was in a bind earlier.」

Not knowing what it was that Sirius was talking about, Belfast cocked her neck slightly.

Edinburgh, who was right next to her, pointed to a tall step ladder on top of the stage.

「Earlier, I just so happened to rescue Sirius from the catwalks using that step ladder…… Because she was hanging from there the entire time.」

「Speaking of catwalks…… You mean that?」

Sirius squirms in embarrassment as Belfast pointed up above her head.

「Why were you there in the first place?」

It was a very natural question to ask in that situation.

「This is actually going to be a long story……」

Then Sirius explained to everyone the whole story that had led to such a disastrous conclusion.

「I don’t really know what to even say to that…… Aside from the fact that this is all my fault!」

At the end of her story, Sirius said so with regret in her voice.

「I did my best to help, and someone I ended up making the situation even worse than before……」

「No, Sirius. I’m rather relieved that you weren’t hurt as a result of all that. Please don’t be too reckless like that in the future.」