The Butler, Competitive (その執事、競争, Sono Shitsuji, Kyōsō) is Chapter 21 of Kuroshitsuji manga.
Summary[]
Soma Asman Kadar comments that Sebastian Michaelis's curry is as good as Agni's, but questions if he has a plan to beat Agni's. Sebastian assures them that he has a secret plan to win the Royal Warrant for Ciel Phantomhive.
Ciel and his servants show up at the Curry Fair, where they meet up with Lau. Ciel wonders why he would bring along one of his girls to this event whilst the latter complains and says that she is his younger sister, though not related by blood. Ciel speculates with Lau that Agni was likely promised the return of Mina by Harold West Jeb should he win. However, Lau thinks that West would likely have Agni killed afterward. Ciel is surprised, finding that a bit excessive.
West then approaches them and exchanges pleasantries with Ciel. He also discloses that his house was broken into, but that the criminals were not able to get the curry recipe. He mentions that he will receive the Royal Warrant, and Ciel comments gleefully that he cannot wait to see his face when he loses.
Sebastian takes his leave to go sit with the other competitors, and Agni is surprised by his presence. Sebastian assures him that his master is selfish and that the reason for his presence is to compete for Ciel's sake, not to help Prince Soma.
As the curry competition gets underway, it is revealed that Aleister Chamber is one of the judges, shocking Ciel, as he is supposed to be in jail. As the chefs begin cooking, the audience members seem amazed by both Agni and Sebastian. However, when Sebastian puts chocolate into the curry, they are shocked and disgusted. Agni disagrees, saying they are wrong and that chocolate is a perfectly viable ingredient.
Prince Soma then claims they will lose the competition when he sees Sebastian rolling balls of dough. Confused, Lau and Ciel question this, and he says Sebastian is making naan in imperfect conditions. Furthermore, the heat on the curry is too high, which will make it dry out, ruining the curry.
When the tasting time comes, the other competitors are dismissed for using curry powder rather than their own selection of ingredients. When Agni's curry is tasted, he gets rave reviews from all of the judges. Sebastian then presents his curry, which looks like a bun. They mock it, questioning if he made a donut and wondering where the curry is. Aleister cuts open the bun and is shocked to find the curry inside. Once they taste it, his curry is also highly praised.
They open the curries up to the general public for tasting and declare the competition a tie between Harold West's company and Ciel Phantomhive's company. However, the trophy is taken from the judge by Queen Victoria's aide as she rides up on a horse. Victoria then bursts into tears, reminded of her dead husband, Prince Albert, and her aide pulls out a puppet of her husband and claims to be him with a dead-panned face.
Once she calms herself, she gives the trophy to Sebastian, declaring him the winner due to the curry bun's ability to be consumed by anyone without utensils. Everyone gives Sebastian high praise, particularly the other Phantomhive servants.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Soma Asman Kadar
- Sebastian Michaelis
- Ciel Phantomhive
- Finnian
- Baldroy
- Mey-Rin
- Lau
- Ran-Mao
- Harold West Jeb
- Agni
- Aleister Chamber
- John Brown
- Queen Victoria
Gallery[]
