How divine.
It’s so cold, Agni. What is this?
It is snow; something which falls in England during the winter, my Prince.
Snow?
England, huh?
It’s exquisite.
His Butler, A Freeloader
His Butler,
A
Freeloader
“This fellow is the child of craziness and laziness.
England is the blasphemous country that has taken all, and forced upon us, in arrogant ways, its rotten culture.
Retribution should befall the fools of the country that the hellcat rules.”
This is the twentieth case!
Have you still not apprehended the culprit, Aberlain?
I—I am profoundly sorry!
Failing to catch Jack the Ripper, doing nothing but putting feathers in that brat’s cap…
That brat?
Do you mean Ciel Phantomhive?
I cannot help but feel that he bears some immense burden
even though he is still but a child.
A child?
A series of incidents targeting those who have returned from India?
Master Ciel!
It seems there haven’t been any fatalities yet.
Crazy and lazy children, huh?
The culprit’s choice of words is very accurate.
I also think this country would be considerably better off without the nouveau riche who come back from India.
At any rate, this mark is…
They’re making fun of us Englishmen and Her Majesty the Queen!
The culprit has to be an Indian!
Ah, so that’s why I was called out.
The vast majority of Indians who have been smuggled into the country are situated in the East End underworld society.
Scotland Yard still has no idea of the exact number or their precise locations, does it?
There is no way we can sit idly by while the royal family is slandered.
Let’s go, Sebastian.
Yes.
This is supposed to be the area where most of the Indians are hiding out.
Ouch!
Oh, so painful! I think one of my ribs has fractured!
Damn it, I might die!
Hey, what’s up?
This is terrible!
You should get compensation to pay for a doctor!
You’d better leave us everything you have.
We seem to have been surrounded by rather loutish thugs.
Young Master, what are your orders?
Take care of this quickly.
Understood.
All the Indians around here have a grudge against you English.
Are you all right?
Yeah.
You bastard.
After dragging us all the way here, you just threw us out like junk.
You raped and looted our country.
Now it’s your turn to taste the humiliation of being pillaged!
Wait.
We are looking for someone. Have you seen this person?
What do you want, you bastard? Don’t interrupt me!
Are you having a duel or something?
Oh, he has a khansama with him.
Are you one of the English nobles?
And if I am?
In that case, I shall side with my countrymen in this quarrel.
Agni.
Yes?
Defeat them.
Jo ajna.
My right hand, blessed by God,
shall be wielded for my master.
He’s fast.
I’ve hit your vital points several times now.
You should already be paralysed.
How can you still move?
Hey! We were just passing through here.
Are Indians barbarians who discriminate with no distinction?
What?
You people! Did you attack that little one over there for no reason?
That is not right!
This time, my countrymen are at fault.
Agni, take the little one’s side.
Understood.
It’s taken care of, Prince Soma.
Good.
Well then, I was in the middle of looking for someone, so I had better get going.
See you.
English roads are too complicated.
Let’s head left next.
I’m completely drained.
The culprit may have been one of those Indian people.
Let us await Master Randall’s report.
Young Master.
Welcome home!
Indeed!
If I keep getting called out to London for all these trivial incidents, there’ll be no end to it.
Ah! Earl, you really did come.
You’re always so unannounced!
I keep telling you, if you’re going to visit, at least send a letter or something first.
Have you said that?
Since we have a guest now, I shall prepare some tea.
Fine.
I’d prefer an English Chai blend.
Fine.
Ah, I met them around the corner. They said they wanted to meet the earl.
Why are you here?
Why? We got acquainted earlier, did we not?
Acquainted?
And also, we saved you.
Sav…
In what way?
In India, hosting for those to whom you are indebted is common sense.
Is it the English way to throw such people out under the cold sky?
Who are you anyway?
Me?
I am a prince.
A prince?
This personage is the Bengal Kingdom’s prince, the 26th Successor, Prince Soma Asman Cadart.
I’ll be imposing on you for a while, Little One.
Wow! A prince!
A… A prince!
This is the first time I’ve seen a real prince in the flesh!
I consent. You may come closer.
What is your kingdom like?
It is a holy country that receives the blessings of the Goddess Kali and the Ganges river.
So, you brought your servants with you this time?
Yes. We have a guard dog to protect the manor while we’re away now.
Well, that must be a relief.
Sebastian, keep an eye on them.
Understood.
Master Ciel, it is time to wake up.
“Master Ciel”?
Namaste, Master Ciel.
Wh—Why are you in my bedroom?
We’re going out, Little One. Show us around.
Why should I have to?
And I have a proper name. It’s Ciel, not Little One.
Then, Ciel, I ask that you be our guide.
Come.
Sorry to intrude,
but the young master has studies and work duties to attend to today.
While we’re in London, I shall fill in as your tutor.
Bach’s Chaconne?
There’s no way I can play a melody as complex as…
While we’re here, I make the rules.
Do you have a problem with my teaching methods?
See? That’s wonderful.
What on Earth?
It seems that they’re praying, but that’s a rather fantastic idol, isn’t it?
All I can see is a statue of a woman carrying a head
with a necklace of heads around her neck, dancing on the belly of a man.
She is one of the Hindu gods we worship, the Goddess Kali.
Indian gods, huh?
Kali is the wife of Shiva and a goddess of power.
In far distant times, a certain demon recklessly challenged her to a fight.
Of course, the Goddess Kali won.
However, after that, unable to quell her destructive urges,
she went on a rampage of death and destruction.
In a bid to defend the Earth,
her husband, the God Shiva, lay down at her feet.
Having stepped on her husband with her unclean feet,
the Goddess Kali returned to her senses and the Earth once again became peaceful.
Kali is a great goddess who defeated a demon after a mighty battle.
As proof of that, she has the demon’s head in her grasp.
So he says.
To think there was someone as strong as that…
I will have to be careful if I ever go to India.
Well then, our prayers are concluded, so let’s go out.
As I said, I’m busy!
Hey, when are you going to be finished?
Hey, what are you doing anyway?
You’ll distract us. Be quiet!
English people are short-tempered, aren’t they?
Enough! I get it!
If you want my attention so badly, then I’ll be your opponent.
So, if I win against you, you’ll come out with us?
If you can.
Good luck.
Well then, begin!
I’ve got you!
It bent?
There’s no benefit to hitting the foot with a foil.
That’s unfair! I don’t know the rules!
A match is a match!
It’s your fault for not knowing!
My Prince, watch out!
M—Master Ciel!
I’m so sorry.
When I thought that His Highness was going to lose, my body moved of its own accord.
Agni, you protected me well!
I give you my praise!
Agni is my khansama and belongs to me.
Therefore, the win was mine.
Th—That’s ridiculous.
My, my.
Looks like you will have to take your master’s revenge, Mr. Butler.
Good grief.
This happened because you teased an amateur who doesn’t know the rules.
Nonetheless,
as a butler of the Phantomhives, now that my master has been injured, I cannot merely sit back and watch.
All else aside, we’re over ten minutes behind schedule.
So, that’s what you’re really irritated about.
How interesting.
Fine. I will allow a duel.
Agni, in the name of the Goddess Kali, do not lose!
Sebastian, this is an order! Shut that brat up!
Jo ajna.
Yes, my Lord.
Oh, my. The foils snapped.
So, the match is a draw, huh?
Ciel’s khansama is pretty good, too!
A draw? His opponent was Sebastian!
Agni is the best fighter in my castle!
This is the first time I’ve seen anyone fight on a par with him!
He went toe to toe with a demon.
Sebastian, just what is that man?
He’s not another one of those…
I’m a butler to die for!
No, he is definitely a human to die for.
I see, but to have that much power…
Indeed. Hanging people would have been an easy task for him…
All right! Today, I’ll use all my skill and cook—
I’ll make the preparations. You just remain calm and stay put.
What the… I was going to make my special dish today; the—
Mr. Sebastian, I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help?
It is all in hand. You should relax.
Four hands are better than two. Please let me know if there is anything I can do.
Well then, might I ask you to help with preparing the gooseberry sauce and cottage pie for tonight’s main dish?
Of course.
Hey! How come you give him a task, but don’t let me, the chef…
Hey! Are you listening?
Ah, I’m busy. So busy.
Chef? Mr. Chef?
Ch—Chef? You mean me?
Yes.
Ch…ef!
I am not all that accustomed to English cooking.
May I ask for your assistance?
Sure! Leave it to me!
What’s for dinner tonight?
Young man, you came just at the right time!
Can you help us make dinner for tonight?
Oh, me?
But I’m strong and clumsy, so Sebastian said I wasn’t to touch any of the kitchenware.
If you have strength, that’s a wonderful thing!
We’re supposed to strain this potato after crushing it, but it’s quite a demanding task!
I should be able to do that!
I want to! Please let me!
Watch out!
Are all right, Miss Maid?
Y—Yes.
When taking plates down from high places, it is best to move them one at a time.
Y—Yes!
How are things proceeding, Mr. Agni?
Thanks to everyone’s hard work, it looks like it’ll be delicious!
You’re quite amazing to have got that lot to help you.
Everyone is born with their own talent.
They have a path and duty laid out for them by the gods.
We children of the gods abide by that and do what we can.
You are a most well-rounded individual, aren’t you, Mr. Agni?
Not at all.
Until I met the prince, I was a hopeless fool.
I will be forever in his debt.
I injured those around me, strayed from the gods and accumulated many sins.
Finally, my day of judgement came.
Without leaving any attachment to this world, I would…
Hey, you, they say you’re a wild man as strong as a beast!
Sounds interesting!
The person you were before today is now dead.
You will be reincarnated with a new name and life.
To me, who had not even believed in the gods,
who had thrown everything away…
Listen, Agni.
A god appeared!
Indeed, that day, I saw the holy light of God within the prince!
Mr. Agni, the pot is boiling over.
The prince is both my king and god.
Therefore I will use this new life to protect the one who gave it to me,
and grant as many of his wishes as I can.
Well, the real gods are all good-for-nothings anyway…
Did you say something?
No. Nothing.
How long do you two intend to stay for?
Once we’ve taken care of our business, we will leave.
That’s right. You said you were looking for someone, right?
And why are you staying here as well?
Really, I wonder.
I’m looking for a woman.
Her name is Meena. She was a servant at my castle.
Sebastian, would you be able to look for her with that?
Even for me, it would be rather…
I will try my best.
So, why is that woman in England?
Meena was my personal attendant, and like a wet nurse to me.
I’ve been with her for as long as I can remember.
My father and mother both paid me no heed,
leaving me alone in the castle all the time,
but Meena was always by my side.
However, there was an English nobleman who had his eye on her,
and he took her to England while I was away from the palace.
In other words, you came to England to get a woman back?
That’s right. I’ll definitely get her back, and then we’ll go home together.
It’s an extravagant trip for just one servant.
It’s not extravagant!
Do you understand my despair at having Meena taken away from me?
Do you know how much I—
I don’t.
I have no idea, nor desire to know, of the despair that can be caused by something as trivial as that.
There are things that you cannot get back no matter how much you struggle.
There is also despair that you cannot escape.
You may not understand that, though.
Even so, I have still had enough
of being alone in that palace.
No matter how you struggle, you can’t get it back.
Even you should know the rules of Old Maid, right?
My tasks for today are all finished. I’ll play with you until I retire for the night.
Ciel.
It’s not for your sake or anything. I’m playing with you because I’m bored.
Sorry, but I have things to do.
What?
Unlike you, I’m busy.
Agni, we’re going out.
Yes.
If you don’t go to sleep early, you won’t grow, Little Ciel.
See you.
Ah, you’re there. You know, Earl…
What?
No luck again today, huh?
We’ll search again tomorrow.
So, they came back.
Frankly, they’re surpassingly suspicious, those two.
That’s true, but still,
I can’t see how those incidents would benefit them.
Judging from their behaviour, they don’t seem to hold a grudge against the colonial rule.
Anyway, if they really were the culprits, do you think they would just dump themselves in front of me so carefreely?
That’s almost like saying, “I’m suspicious!”
That’s true. In that case, they probably really are just searching for someone.
It’s still too early to conclude that.
He’s on the move after all.
Nothing I say comes out right.
I can't love without a fight.
No one ever knows my name.
When I pray for sun, it rains.
I'm so sick of wasting time,
but nothing's moving in my mind.
Inspiration can't be found.
I get up and fall, but...
I'm alive!
Oh yeah!
Between the good and bad is where you'll find me,
reaching for Heaven!
I will fight!
And I'll sleep when I die!
I live my life!
I'm alive!
Oh yeah!
Between the good and bad is where you'll find me,
reaching for Heaven!
I will fight!
And I'll sleep when I die!
I live my hard life!
I live my life! I'm alive!
Mr. Agni’s unknown, hidden face.
Deer?
No matter what the reason, hiding things from your master makes you a failure as a butler.
My face has neither a hidden nor a visible side.
Shall I show you how how I really look?
All right, look!
Next time on Kuroshitsuji:
His Butler, Extraordinary
Preview
His Butler, Extraordinary.
After all, I am one hell of a butler.
We shall await you next time…