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

In the past, Cygnet had attended a class to participate in a military commission for the very first time, and at that time her clothes were covered in mud from head to toe.

What Formidable was holding in her hands right now was the exact spare maid outfit from that exact time.

Seeing that Belfast was looking at the maid uniform so very intensely, Victorious hurried up with an explanation as to why they had it in the first place.

「Oh, you see, as to Cygnet-chan’s costume, I have made it using that one as a base, but it seemed that the skirt part was torn so much that she cannot possibly wear it in front of other people anymore, right? It was that kind of accident, correct? But, if we use this spare uniform to make some arrangements, like this for example, we can probably do something that looks really similar really quick. Of course, that’s only if the Maid Corps gives us their permission to use that spare uniform to that end.」

「Yes, please. By all means, please do that.」

When Belfast nodded her head in affirmation of their request, Formidable immediately borrowed a suitable table and put the clothes on top of it while saying the following,

「Nee-san, it would be best if we made those arrangements while bearing in mind that accidents like that might happen in the future, so we need to minimize the risk of something like that happening ever again, wouldn’t you agree?」

Victorious first nodded her head at Formidable, and then she spoke all happily.

「Yes, that’s right! But, I will leave it to you for now. After all, damage processing of various sorts is your exact area of expertease.」

「…… Hm? What the hell was that even supposed to mean, I wonder?」

But, before anyone in here could open their mouth to comment on that matter, Formidable boldly put her scissors to the spare maid uniform, beginning her work on it right away.

Even Belfast herself was at a loss for words here, especially just how fast and precise her movements were.

「Just to let you know, since earlier on we have received permission to match the uniform to my personal tastes a little bit, so I will try to make it into a fashionable style that is a little bit different from the original maid outfit that we all know and love.」

The finished maid outfit was finished in a flash, and in a way that skillfully incorporated the damages that were done to it earlier, as well as adding a few new additions and arrangements.

「Formidable, as always, the quality and the tempo of your work does not disappoint.」

Sheffield murmured those words, a tinge of amazement clearly present in her voice just now.

「But I must admit, the practicality of this outfit seems to be a little bit low.」

「Well, there is only so much that can be done on the spot, and with so little time to work on it ——」

Just then, Formidable noticed Victorious’s gaze, looking at the finished maid uniform right in front of her.

「…… E-Ekhem! A-Anyways, this should solve the problem of the damaged costume, is that right?」

She said in a slightly panicked tone after clearing her throat loudly.

Looking at the beautifully tailored maid uniform that Formidable procured seemingly in a flash, Victorious immediately started walking towards where Cygnet was currently standing.

「Well then, since the uniform is all ready, there is nothing else to be done here but to get you all dressed up right away!」

「In that case, I am going to go and see just how others are doing at the current moment.」

After that, Sheffield immediately left the stage and went towards where the other teams were working right about now.

「Belfast.」

It was then that Newcastle called out to Belfast in a calm tone.

「The situation might seem to be quite serious right now, but regarding the cleaning of the stage, we, the Royal Maids, will do everything we can to make sure it will be all done in time. So in the meantime, you should focus on doing the things that only you can do here.」

「…… Doing something that only I can do?」

When Belfast parroted those words involuntarily, Newcastle raised his arm and pointed towards the center of the stage.

「Earlier, in the stage play, you mentioned that Emile Bertine defeated the Elite Siren with some much needed adlib at the time, right?」

Come to think of it, Belfast did recall something like that taking place not so long ago.

「I think it’s really wonderful that the dialogue did not immediately give the audience a sense of incongruity to that action, but…… Thanks to that witty dialogue, another problem arose completely on its own.」

「Just like in the original script was supposed to go…… But now we cannot quite make a development in which Boo-san gets washed away on that deserted island, isn’t that right?」

「Yes, that is exactly right. Originally, the shipgirls were supposed to lose to the Elite Siren and drift away, because of which we had the opportunity to create a reunion scene between Rei-san and Boo-san. And now we are very pressed for time to come up with some other sort of development.」

Hearing Newcastle’s words, Belfast involuntarily looked up towards the ceiling of the theater hall.

Whether or not they were going to actually come up with a plan or strategy to get that problem fixed, they had only about twenty or so minutes in order to do that before the technical break would end. And it was understandably a rather delicate matter.

「However……」

「However?」

Belfast lowered her gaze towards the floor and started thinking deeply for a moment.

「Since we have heard that the story of the Ghost Maid was actually a true story based solely on dry facts, this means that our stage play is merely……」

「You actually feel bad for the actual Ghost Maid for changing the story so much?」

Newcastle cut into what Belfast was trying to say here, actually managing to hit a proverbial nail to the head with her guess.

「Belfast. Isn’t it right about time that you started to stop thinking of Boo-san as your own reflection?」

Belfast’s eyes widened at Newcastle’s words, and a sudden change of the tone of her voice.

「W-What are you talking about, Newcastle-san? Boo-san is all about being the Ghost Maid, and besides ——」

「No. That’s wrong, Belfast, and you know it. The Ghost Maid’s name is not Boo-san. And it is not Rei-san either, or whatever the name that you want to call it with would be.」

「What does that even…… No, wait. “Boo-san” was only a temporary name we had conjured up for that character, simply because her real name was illegible in the picture book! That was the only reason!」

To those words, Newcastle simply shook her head.

「In the beginning, it should have been decided with that in mind, just like you said just now. But on that day, the character who was tentatively given the name “Boo-san” in the library was not the one from the picture book that we were reading, but rather a character created by Her Majesty, based on her own experiences involving you, Belfast. You could say that this “Boo-san” is nothing more but a stand-in, a self-insert of sorts that reflects the author’s thoughts and feelings about a certain person.」

「Well, yes. Yes, you are correct. But, that was also exactly the reason why we were going to remake it, and ——」

「Except that nothing was remade, and everything was kept as it was.」

Newcastle let out a small chuckle here.

「In truth to be told, it was actually your story from the very beginning. That picture book was just an idea that we have come up with. From the very beginning right to the very end, it was all about the various events that happened to the Maid Corps, and the only elements of that picture book were the maids and the nobles, weren’t they?」

When Newcastle delivered those words onto Belfast, she felt at a loss for words right there on the spot.

「Speaking of which…… there was also a story in there about that time when you happened to catch a cold, Nee-sama!」

Bel-chan, who had been listening to Newcastle’s story for a while now, began to talk happily.

「The scene where Boo-san caught a cold and ran out of the room in search of Rei-san despite being told to rest! That was on our birthday!」

「That’s because Her Majesty thought it was so fun that she wanted to have that skit in there no matter what……」

When Belfast dropped her shoulders in sheer shock, Newcastle looked at her again and chuckled.