176. The Butler, In the Kitchen

The Butler, In the Kitchen is Chapter 176 of the Kuroshitsuji manga.
==Summary==
Baldroy wakes up with a start and calls out to ask if they are under attack. It takes a moment to realize that he survived and is now at Phantomhive Manor.
Later in the morning, Sebastian introduces Baldroy to Mey-Rin and Finnian in the kitchen. They welcome him, and Sebastian informs Baldroy that he is in charge of the manor until Tanaka, the house steward, returns from his leave of absence and that, from now on, Baldroy will be the new chef. Baldroy then asks if this is a joke. After all, Sebastian told him that he was looking for "private soldiers" and the manor's staff consists of "one snotty kid, a jittery woman, and a pale, skinny dude" who, from Baldroy's assessement, may not even win in a fight against children. Sebastian is rather amused by Baldroy's words, and as if on cue, Ciel then rings for him. Sebastian tells Baldroy that he will explain everything to him later and orders Mey-Rin and Finnian to go do their assigned jobs.
When everyone else has left the kitchen, Baldroy sinks down on a chair and wonders what he is doing here.
A few days ago, Sebastian brought Baldroy to Ciel to present him as the manor's new chef. Ciel was unsure about hiring Baldroy as Sebastian has been taking care of the kitchen alone, but Sebastian told him that it is prestigious to employ a chef and that he would need a cook to restore the earldom. Ciel then remarked that highly regarded chefs are usually French or Italian, and Baldroy asked him if he had a problem with an American chef and who even cared how food tasted like as long as it was edible. Ciel replied that he did not care who cooked the dishes as long as they were first class dishes. He also told Baldroy that while he was taught to cook until everything is burned on the battlefield, he may not do so in the Phantomhive Manor's kitchen. Sebastian interjected that he had not recruited Baldroy for his culinary skills, but rather because he needs another senior staff member to manage Finnian and Mey-Rin. Afterward, Ciel ordered Sebastian to train Baldroy, and Baldroy internally noted that his new employer, this little child, is so different from a boy he used to know.
In the present, Sebastian returns to the kitchen and says that he will now instruct Baldroy in his duties as chef. However, Baldroy cuts him off mid-sentence to tell him that he is being a "creep" for calling him "Mister Baldroy" as he is his superior. Baldroy suggests that Sebastian calls him "Baldo" instead because everyone in his unit called him that. Sebastian informs him that he cannot call him by such an informal name as it is against the etiquette. Thus, he will continue to address him as "Mister Baldroy."
Subsequently, Sebastian says that he does not expect Baldroy to cook full-course meals already and that Baldroy will start by preparing vegetables and roasting meats. Today they will do roast chicken, and Sebastian says Baldroy that he will have to pluck the chicken's feathers first.
When Baldroy is done, he presents his cooked bird to Sebastian who is shocked by it as it still has its feathers and is burned. Sebastian reminds Baldroy that he was supposed to prepare the chicken so that it is edible, and Baldroy replies that it is edible and then demonstratively takes a bite out of it and spits it on Sebastian's shoe. He holds up the chicken and tells Sebastian that, according to battlefield etiquette, one has no time to pluck birds and has to cook them immediately before one is noticed by enemies.
Sebastian wipes his shoe and says that, if Baldroy wants to be trained in military fashion, so be it—and proceeds to slap Baldroy into the pots. Afterward, he says to a startled Baldroy that this is what happens when someone disobeys their superior on the battlefield. Baldroy then calls him a bastard.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
*Baldroy
*Sebastian Michaelis
*Mey-Rin
*Finnian
*Ciel Phantomhive
==Navigation==
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Category:Chapters
Category:Blue Revenge Arc