3 bar menu

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

Belfast gently stroked Sirius’s head.

「Now then, where did this particular Manjuu-san go?」

Bel-chan looked around, wobbling and wobbling.

「For the time being, it was transported to Akashi-san and put to treatment because it passed out at the time with its eyes rolling about. It seems that the reason it was in such a high position in the first place was because it was entrusted with the operation of the lighting fixtures……」

After Sirius said that much, Edinburgh threw her hands together as if she just happened to figure something out.

「Bel-chan and Sirius, let’s stop the conversation for now!」

Then she turns to Belfast right away.

「And you too, Bel! What’s wrong with you today? You seem to be way more carefree today, and that’s like so not you!」

After hearing that, Belfast finally came back to her senses.

Apparently, it would seem that hearing the full story of Boo-san managed to get under Belfast’s skin way more than she would have liked to admit at the current moment.

And because of that, Belfast was unable to start acting like her usual, graceful and dignified self.

「Ah, no, it’s just that…… I was actually thinking for a little bit, that’s why ——」

Yes, that’s right.

It was really just a thought that came across Belfast’s head.

What would she do if she was in Boo-san’s shoes?

Rei-san…… If she was the most important person in the entire world to Belfast, and she was right in front of her ——

All of a sudden, Belfast felt like she was recalling many memories that had happened in a far, far away corners of her memories..

「…… el? Bel! BEL!」

As Belfast was slowly descending into a state of a daze once again, Edinburgh squeezed her cheeks with a strong force with both of her hands in order to get her little sister’s attention.

「Geez! Just look at you! Looking all gloomy like that! You look totally not like Bel right about now! Now give me my little sister back!」

「N-Nee-san, it’s not that, it’s just that…… I was just ——」

Without actually giving Belfast any chance to make excuses or explain why she was acting the way she did, Edinburgh was currently squeezing Belfast’s cheeks with so much force that Belfast could feel her entire face go numb as a result of that.

「N-Nee-san, please…… Stop it……」

「Oh no, I won’t! Now hurry it up! Hurry up and start behaving like the usual Bel! Unless I won’t get back my usual dignified Head Maid of a little sister, I’m not stopping!」

「Yes, I get it, I understand, just…… Can you please let me go now……」

But before Belfast was able to finish speaking what she was going to tell, Edinburgh let go of her cheeks in an instant.

「You don’t have to feel lonely or sad, you know? Since you’ve got me and everyone else in here.」

「……Huh?」

Holding onto her swollen and slightly numb cheeks for a moment, Belfast raised her head in surprise, but Edinburgh immediately turned around as if to dodge Belfast’s questioning gaze.

「Is this perhaps…… a reverse version of the ‘A Certain Question” that you were previously asking me all the time, and I was telling you to stop it?」

「W-Well yeah, that’s right! But now I’m telling you to don’t feel sad or lonely anymore! It’s an arranged version like that! Arranged version!」

Edinburgh answered while looking shyly behind her, right into Belfast’s eyes.

「So, that is exactly why! K-Knowing you, Bel, you must be thinking about what happened to Boo-san, am I right? Because you are such a good person, almost to a fault…… But you know! Since she was such a good maid, I think that she was alright in the end! That’s what I think!」

With those words, Belfast finally come to realize something.

「Did you happen to hear the full story from Erebus-sama earlier, Nee-san?」

Hearing those words, Edinburgh first opened her mouth, and then she started to mumble in an incomprehensible way before she eventually gave up and nodded her head frantically.

All the while, Edinburgh’s face was so beet-red that you could almost see smoke coming out of her ears.

She then let her breath out of her mouth for a moment, and then she placed her hands on top of her chest in an attempt at calming herself down.

Belfast then shook uncontrollably and covered her mouth with her hand. She was sure that if Edinburgh happened to realize that she was about to laugh right now, she would get really angry with her.

「Thank you very much. I’m actually ashamed of myself for being all timid like that, but…… Bel, I see that you can still get embarrassed like everyone else. Which is a good thing. As it should be.」

Then, Edinburgh turned around for a moment.

「Well, since I seem to have worried you so much that you had to give me a good talking-to, I apologize for that.」

「…… Really? Was I acting a little bit like an Older Sister just now?」

Yes, yes you did. And it was a perfect score performance. But there was no way that Belfast was ever going to admit that to Edinburgh..

Helfast then pressed her hands on her cheeks once more, which had been loosened up nicely thanks to Edinburgh, and called out to all the other maids on top of the stage.

「Everyone, can I ask you to come here and gather up for a moment?」

Anyways, in face of a sudden crisis just like that one, the only choice that they all had here was to just struggle as hard as they could in order to accomplish their goal.

Just as Amazon said earlier, they could use thirty minutes of technical break at the most here. In the meantime, anything on top of the stage that was no longer needed or has been damaged beyond repair must be removed in a hurry and stored somewhere else for the time being.

「—— Belfast, everyone is here, just like you asked.」

When everyone gathered around as per Belfast’s request, Sheffield informed her about it in her usual emotionless expression.

「Everyone, I would like you to listen to me for a moment. From now on, we, the fifth group of the Maid Corps, will do our best to assist each group in their respective duties so that we can restart the stage play in approximately thirty minutes time. Then ——」

Belfast turned around, spreading her arms all over the stage, pointing towards the fallen debris and pieces of the shattered scaffolding that were lying about all over the place.

「——- I would like to ask you to help with the cleaning up of the stage from all that debris.」

「…… Head Maid. If that is the case here, then I have a suggestion: would you allow me to take over that role?」

When Sirius put her hand on top of her chest and said so, Kent, who was in the of the gathered crowd, immediately raised her hand as well.

「Me! Me, me, me! Kent is pretty good at cleaning, so if you need it done, then you can assign me to it as well, Head Maid!」
Let me!」

The two of them then went to clean up the heavy items first, and then they proceeded with the small items, upon which they were joined up by Edinburgh, Coracoa and Suffolk.

「Sheffy. Do you think it would be possible to somehow repair Cygnet-san’s costume?」

Sheffield muttered to herself for a bit while staring at the place where the Costume Team was currently.

「If it was only just a little tear, then we could simply fix it on the spot with some basic first-aid measures…… But, looking at that costume and its tear, I am afraid that there is nothing that can be done about it.」

Sheffield glanced at Cygnet sitting in a chair while looking all restless.

「It would be much better and faster to prepare some replacement. But, that is only the case when you have spare costumes in the first place.」

Judging from the way Sheffield sighed in a heavy way, it was likely that something like that was not even prepared by the Costume-Making Team.

「—— If you are looking for some spare maid costume, then I have some on me.」

All of a sudden, Belfast heard a voice behind her back, and turned around in its direction.

Then, standing right there was none other than Formidable.

「I am sorry for intruding on your gathering like that all of a sudden.」

Right behind Formidable there was Victorious, peeking from behind her back. She said so in a lighthearted voice, and after that Formidable procured a maid outfit that she was carrying in her hands.

「Is that……?」

Upon seeing Formidable’s maid uniform from up close, Belfast suddenly happened to remember.