177. The Butler, Guiding

The Butler, Guiding is Chapter 177 of the Kuroshitsuji manga.
==Summary==
Before he came to Phantomhive Manor and when he was still a soldier in America, Baldroy collected rain water and returned to the cave where he and his comrades were hiding. He told his comrade Terry to drink it, but Terry strained himself to tell Baldroy that his mother was a great cook and that he loved her candied yams. Baldroy replied that his stomach started to growl just from hearing this, and Terry continued that he and his younger brother fought over the yams and that his brother died in this battle. He wished to return home to eat his mother's candied yams again, and with these words, he passed away.
Baldroy shook Terry's corpse and shouted that he should pull himself together so that he could eat his mother's yams again. When he accepted that Terry had died, Baldroy turned to his other fallen comrades and pleaded that he could not leave him behind.
Later, at Phantomhive Manor, Baldroy wakes up from his dream when his alarm clock rings at 5 AM although he had set it to 7:30 AM. Sebastian then enters Baldroy and Finnian's room and wishes Baldroy a good morning. He informs Baldroy that chefs usually can sleep longer, but they usually have kitchen and scullery maids at their service. As they do not have any at Phantomhive Manor, Baldroy needs to wake up early to do the needed preparations himself. Sebastian reminds him that, as he cannot even roast meat, Baldroy has to learn the duties of a trainee kitchen maids first. Then, he playfully suggests that Baldroy could wear a maid's uniform in this case, but Baldroy refuses.
Sebastian tells Baldroy to get ready before heading to the kitchen and sets out to leave when Baldroy asks why he does not wake up Finnian. Sebastian informs him that Finnian is the gardener and, thus, starts his work at sunrise.
In the kitchen, Sebastian explains to Baldroy that as there is neither a mistress of the manor nor a housekeeper, he as the butler is responsible for planning the menu. Furthermore, as Ciel is not very sociable, they rarely hold formal dinners with many guests. Still, as chef, Baldroy has to give orders to his assistants and make sure that all orders go out in time. He is, essentially, a commander, and the kitchen is his new battlefield. Afterward, Sebastian orders Baldroy to clean the scullery.
When Sebastian comes to inspect Baldroy's work later, he points out all his mistakes: the wet larder floor which could turn into a hotbed of germs, the tarnished, unsanitary saucepan, the muddy not-well plucked pheasant that could give Ciel food poisoning. Sebastian reminds Baldroy that the kitchen is the place where the household's health is managed. Therefore, he should be careful about keeping everything hygienic. Baldroy then replies that Ciel must be quite "delicate" to get sick after getting a bit of mud into his mouth—after all, "runts" are supposed to run around outside and get muddied.
With a sigh, Sebastian tells Baldroy that he will do the preparations instead and that Baldroy's task is to roast a chicken to redeem himself.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
*Baldroy
*Terry
*Sebastian Michaelis
*Finnian
==Navigation==
it:Capitolo 177
Category:Chapters
Category:Blue Revenge Arc