The Butler, Final Match (その執事、決勝, Sono Shitsuji, Kesshō) is Chapter 79 of the Kuroshitsuji manga.
Summary[]
Sebastian Michaelis can no longer feel the headmaster's presence, and subsequently decides to return to the grounds where the cricket tournament is taking place.
In the meantime, Ciel Phantomhive throws a couple of slow balls that go for the face of the batsman from Green House, and the batsman is unable to hit them. The batsman is declared out; he then analyzes their strategy and realizes that after the bowler (i.e. Ciel) aims for the face, the fieldsmen would catch the ball reflected off the bat, thus resulting to him being out. Edward Midford states that Blue House has broken the rules, and Ciel refutes this proclamation by explaining the credibility of the play—the ball has passed through the vicinity of the batsman and, by chance, a player that happened to be near the deflected ball caught it with no bound. Edward says that an English gentleman would never do that, and the crowd chant that it is not cricket.
Herman Greenhill silences the crowd, and he shows Ciel's calloused hand which demonstrates that Ciel has underwent heavy training to throw correctly. He incites Green House to persevere, and tells Lawrence Bluewer that he is glad to see him go all out before graduating.
In the next round, Ciel throws an off-side low ball, which tricks the batsman. Ciel uses cliff tactics; he purposely throws dangerous balls unbeknownst to them, particularly since they adhere by their gentlemen's pact. He manages to keep Green House scoreless and got two out, and he has a remaining bowl. Edward is his next opponent, and he hits a boundary 6. However, Ciel is not fazed as he has expected that he would not be able to suppress Edward who has a strong mentality and a high dynamic vision that overcomes fear.
Lawrence pats Ciel's head, and tells him to leave the rest to him. He says that Edward has taken 30 runs last year, and he plans to change that around this year. He hurls a wild ball, then contemplates about Ciel who has given him the inspiration to win. The ball lands directly on the wicket, in reflection to Lawrence's trajectory calculation, and Edward is unable to react.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Sebastian Michaelis
- Ciel Phantomhive
- Herman Greenhill
- Edward Midford
- Clayton
- Lawrence Bluewer
- Elizabeth Midford
- Soma Asman Kadar
- Finnian
- Mey-Rin
- Baldroy
- Tanaka
- McMillan