162. The Butler, Hiring

The Butler, Hiring is Chapter 162 of the Kuroshitsuji manga.
==Summary==
Ciel is surprised to learn that Owl, the expert sniper of Qīng Bāng, is a woman, and Sebastian points out that this will make her the perfect addition to their staff because they do not have any female servants. However, Ciel scolds Sebastian about contemplating to hire an assassin as a maid. Sebastian tells him that he does not want to recruit Mey-Rin despite the fact that she is an assassin but because she is one. After all, Phantomhive servants have to fulfill requirements which are different than those regular servants have to fulfill: They have to be able to protect their master, be in a position that they would never betray him, and Ciel must personally acknowledge their talents. Mey-Rin fulfills all criteria.
Mey-Rin interjects and tells Ciel and Sebastian that an assassin cannot possibly work as a maid. Sebastian replies that maids and assassins are alike in a way: Both get rid of "filth" for their master; the former only use cleaning utensils, the latter guns. He also asks her what else she can do but accept his offer with the Chinese mafia wanting to see her dead. Then, he proceeds to inform Mey-Rin that, if she agrees to work for the Phantomhive family, she will be paid—with the possibility of receiving a raise—, given days off, and be provided with supplies.
Still, Mey-Rin believes Sebastian and Ciel to be mad to think about hiring someone like her. She ponders about what to do: Should she stay to find a better opportunity to kill Ciel? Even though Qīng Bāng wants to get rid of her? Or should she run away despite having no place to go and no money? And while Mey-Rin gets more and more confused about what to do and think, her stomach rumbles loudly. Ciel is a bit amused because of that and then tells Sebastian to properly welcome their guest.
After a while, Mey-Rin is led to the dining hall, the ropes binding her hands are removed, and she is asked to sit at the table. This confuses Mey-Rin and also cements her opinion that Sebastian and Ciel are idiots as there are knives on the table. She picks one up and is about to attack when Sebastian leans over her shoulder and whispers to her that she took the wrong knife first. Mey-Rin is quite shocked, and Ciel scolds Sebastian not to embarrass their guest and says to Mey-Rin that she should not worry about her table manners.
Shortly afterward, Sebastian brings the food: a salad of steamed vegetables and chicken, oxtail stew, and pain the champagne. Mey-Rin is amazed as she has never smelled something so good but worries that the food may be poisoned. Ciel tells her that she should not worry about it as he gains nothing from poisoning her and proceeds to show her how to eat the dishes in front of her. He rips the bread in half and dips it into the stew—much to Sebastian's dismay, but Ciel insists that stew tastes better like this.
After he eats one half, Ciel throws the other to Mey-Rin who catches it and marvels about the fact that it is soft and warm and not moldy and cold. Following Ciel's example, Mey-Rin dips the bread in the stew before eating it and starts to cry. The knife falls from her hand, and she remembers how she stole and killed her entire life only to eat cold bread in the end. But the one Ciel gave to her is hot, and Mey-Rin begins to stuff herself with the bread and stew. Sebastian is glad that she likes the food, and Ciel tells him to get another serving.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
*Mey-Rin
*Ciel Phantomhive
*Sebastian Michaelis
==Navigation==
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Category:Blue Revenge Arc