| The Butler, Freeloading | |
|---|---|
| |
| Japanese Title | その執事、居候 Sono Shitsuji, Isōrō |
| Volume | 4 |
| Chapter | 15 |
| Anime Episodes | Episode 13 |
| Arc | Indian Butler Arc |
| Release Date | November 17, 2007 |
| Chronology | |
| Previous Chapter | The Butler, On the Hunt |
| Next Chapter | The Butler, Foreign |
The Butler, Freeloading (その執事、居候, Sono Shitsuji, Isōrō) is chapter 15 of the Kuroshitsuji manga.
Summary
It is winter in London, when everything has entered a state of peacefulness, but only temporarily.
Englishmen who have recently returned from India have been assaulted, stripped, and hung upside down with a threat note attached. There have been recordings of at least twenty of these incidents, much to Scotland Yard commissioner Lord Randall's and officer Fred Abberline's dismay. They discuss the new case, along with the Jack the Ripper case, once Ciel Phantomhive approaches them. Ciel grabs information on the Anglo-Indian assaults from them, in order to review the case. He states that because this is embarrassing for the royal family, he would get involved, especially since the Yard does not seem to know what to do with a dark street like East End.
They return the documents, with Sebastian stating that he has already memorized them, and they take their leave. Abberline questions who Ciel is, and Randall explains that the Phantomhive family is called the "Queen's Watchdogs" or the "Evil Noblemen." The Phantomhive is a dark family that conceals all of the royal family's wrongdoings, no matter how dirty the method. They control and manage everything in the underworld of Britain and maintain the division between the underworld and surface world.
Sebastian and Ciel arrive at Lau's opium den, where he is relaxing with several girls. Lau initially pretends to know of the incident, and they leave the den to walk in the East End, supposedly to find the stronghold of Indians. He then asks Ciel to explain what the incident is. Once he does, Lau comments that the reason for the interest in the case must be because of the targets have been upper-class citizens and soldiers. While walking, Lau comments that he lost track of where they were at.
Suddenly, Ciel bumps into a certain Indian man who feigns serious injury. They are then surrounded by Indians. They demand that because Ciel is noble, he pays them consolation money, because of the way the British brought them to England and then "dumped them like trash." Ciel orders Sebastian to deal with them.
While they are threatening Ciel and Sebastian, a well-dressed Indian and his butler appears, holding up a poor drawing of a woman. When he learns there is a fight, he says he will side with the people of his country, and orders his butler, Agni, to attack. Sebastian is able to avoid his blows, although he comments that he moves quickly.
During a pause, Ciel angrily questions if all Indians attack indiscriminately like barbarians. The prince asks the others if they had a reason to fight, and when they fail to present one, he orders Agni to side with the British. Agni quickly takes out all of the Indians. Soma and Agni say they are very busy and leave.
Lau is revealed to have been hiding on a roof for the "right chance to jump in". He leaps down. He comments that Soma and Agni were definitely not from the East End, and Sebastian advises them to report the Indians who attacked them to the Yard.
At Ciel's London townhouse, they agree to wait to hear from Randall, as the perpetrators of the attacks may have been among those men. Ciel is annoyed by the pitiful case, and his servants greet him warmly. Sebastian goes to prepare some tea when they notice they have some guests - Agni and Soma.
Soma states that in India, it is common to welcome benefactors. Since Soma saved them from the other Indians earlier that day, he will stay with Ciel, much to the latter's chagrin. Agni moves to get chai tea, and Sebastian seems dumbfounded as "serving tea is kind of [his] thing."
The servants of the Phantomhive family are impressed, and Soma allows them to come close to him and ask him questions. Ciel, however, screams for them to get out.
Characters in Order of Appearance
- Finnian
- Mey-Rin
- Baldroy
- Tanaka
- Arthur Randall
- Fred Abberline
- Ciel Phantomhive
- Sebastian Michaelis
- Lau
- Ran-Mao
- Soma Asman Kadar
- Agni