003. The Butler, Omnipotent

The Butler, Omnipotent (その執事、最強, Sono Shitsuji, Saikyō) is Chapter 3 of the Kuroshitsuji manga.
==Summary==
The Phantomhive servants discover that the manor is infested with rats and employ some unorthodox methods to eliminate them. The noise attracts the attention of several nobles playing pool with the young earl in a nearby recreation room.
Ciel declines to take his turn as he explains he has the "ingredients" from Chlaus and requests compensation (implying a bribe for services rendered) from Arthur Randall, the head of Scotland Yard, who despite his distaste, agrees to the boy's demands.
Out in the hallway, Sebastian demands to know what the other servants are up to. He easily solves the rat problem by snatching the rats bare-handed and flinging them out a window. He then orders the others back to work: they have guests coming to the manor this evening and there's much to do.
Ciel retires alone to his study after the game but is grabbed by an unseen hand and rendered unconscious. Shortly after, Sebastian enters the study to present Ciel his afternoon tea. When he sees the window wide open and the room empty, he infers his young master has been kidnapped and callously mourns that all his effort to produce a perfect tea, including a beautiful apple and raisin dip pie, will now go to waste.
Elsewhere, Azzurro Vanel, the culprit, is with a battered and bloody Ciel who is trussed, hobbled and sitting on the floor. Azzurro reveals himself to be a mafia drug dealer. He mocks the boy's title as Queen's Watchdog, his loyalty to the Queen, and the English in general while attempting to talk the boy into working with him. Ciel tells him bluntly he will not co-operate with "a filthy rat." Azzurro points his gun at the boy, but the boy confidently counters Chlaus will send incriminating evidence to the authorities if Ciel fails to return home. Azzurro then demands to know where the drugs Chlaus obtained are being held and threatens to kill Ciel's servants if not told. Ciel laughs at the idea of his servants being so easily eliminated, so Azzurro picks up a phone and orders his snipers to begin picking them off.
At the manor, Sebastian is approached by a running Mey-Rin who waves a letter she has found left in the entrance hall. It is addressed to "Mister Valet to Lord Ciel Phantomhive." At that moment, the maid trips on a bootlace and tackles the butler to the floor, just as the sniper takes aim through the nearby window and shoots. A few wisps of Sebastian's hair go flying. The maid lands face-down on top of the butler. Neither are hit. Not particularly fussed by the maid straddling him, Sebastian requests the letter, simultaneously recapturing the airborne pie on his tray. He reads the ransom note which he dismisses as an "undignified invitation" but takes note of its contents. The snipers, realizing their failure, flee.
Finnian and Baldroy, who heard the crash, rush upstairs to find Mey-Rin sitting on the butler, both surrounded by broken glass. The maid "dying" of embarrassment, topples off the butler, who stands and dusts himself off, then offers the maid a hand up. He informs the staff he has "a bit of minor business to take care of" and requests them to finish supper preparations, adding "then clean this up too," shoving the pie at Baldroy. In the background, the maid is still suffering a case of "vapors" from landing on the butler. Before Baldroy can ask if "clean this up too" means he can eat the pie, Sebastian has completely disappeared.
On the road, the snipers relay their failure to Azzurro on a car phone. They then tell him "something is coming" and begin panicking, crying out it is catching up to them despite their pushing the car to its top speed. Soon they are screaming hysterically. It ends in a shriek and the line goes dead. As Azzurro contemplates what he has just heard, Ciel taunts him over his failure "to fetch"; this earns him a severe kicking.
Sebastian picks up the car phone and politely asks Azzurro about his master. Azzurro is stricken speechless. Ciel gives a little "woof" and Sebastian responds "Understood", assuring Ciel he is on his way. The line goes dead again.
Elsewhere, the fleeing snipers are in their automobile, which is now roofless, beaten nearly to pieces and perched precariously halfway off the edge of a roadside cliff. The only thing keeping it from going over is the weight of Sebastian, who is calmly perched on the hood. He politely returns the phone and asks the men who they work for. They tell him Azzurro and supply his hiding place, begging not to be killed since they are only hired guns. Sebastian stands, apologizes for detaining them and invites them to "enjoy [their] trip" as he steps off the car and watches it topple over the edge.
He then walks away against a backdrop of oily smoke and flames, worrying he is going to be late for the earl's supper.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
*Baldroy
*Finnian
*Mey-Rin
*Tanaka
*Diedrich
*Arthur Randall
*Azzurro Vanel
*Angelina Dalles
*Chlaus
*Lau
*Ciel Phantomhive
*Sebastian Michaelis
==Trivia==
===Out of Universe===
* Finnian's plan to catch the mice—"Showdown of the Archenemies, Tome and Julie"—is a reference to the animated franchise Tom and Jerry.Kuroshitsuji manga; Volume 1, Translation notes
* Mey-Rin's plan is called "Once I catch you, I won't let go, Mice Hoihoi." "Mice Hoihoi" is a pun on "Gokiburi Hoihoi," a Japanese brand of cockroach (ゴキブリ, gokiburi) traps. "Hoihoi" means "Shoo! Go away!" The brand exists since 1973.https://troutfactory.wordpress.com/2010/08/14/cabinet-of-wonders-gokiburi-hoi-hoi/
* The billard game Ciel, Randall, and the Aristocrats of Evil play is nine-ball. It was not invented until 1920.Wikipedia:Nine-ball
==References==
==Navigation==
pl:003. Ten kamerdyner jest najsilniejszy!
de:Kapitel 3: Dieser Butler ist der Stärkste
ru:Самый сильный дворецкий
es:003. Ese Mayordomo, Tan Fuerte
it:Capitolo 3
Category:Chapters
Category:Black Butler Arc