52. His Butler, Scheming

His Butler, Scheming (その執事、策動, Sono Shitsuji, Sakudō) is the fifty-second episode of the Kuroshitsuji anime, and the sixth episode of Kuroshitsuji: Public School Arc.
==Summary==
In the past, Diedrich went to confront Vincent for neglecting his duties as a prefect by skipping preparations for June 4th. Vincent further provoked Diedrich by remarking on his "German stiffness" for which Diedrich tried to hit him with his cricket bat, but Vincent could dodge the attack.
Diedrich then expressed his bafflement at how "someone like him" could become a prefect and noted that the other Blue House students could not "amount to much" if they accepted Vincent as their prefect. While Vincent could not care less if Diedrich insulted him, he did not want Diedrich to insult his housemates and, thus, asked him to refrain from doing so. Diedrich, however, believed that he had every right to speak ill of the Sapphire Owl students because "a commanding officer is the embodiment of his company." His words prompted Vincent to propose to bet on which house would win the cricket tournament; the loser would then have to comply with one demand made by the winner. Certain of Green Lion's win, Diedrich accepted the wager.
To everyone's astonishment, however, Sapphire Owl beat Green Lion in the cricket tournament's finale. Sometime later, Diedrich sought Vincent at Swan Gazebo to ascertain Vincent's demand. Vincent told him that he wanted him to be his eternal fag before he jumped on a boat and waved him goodbye, happy that he fulfilled his lifelong wish of obtaining a "loyal German dog." Diedrich angrily followed him, wading through the water. Alexis tearfully watched the scene from afar in the mistaken belief that Diedrich and Vincent "finally learned to get along."
In the present, Alexis finishes the Miracle of Sapphires story, leaving his audience mostly surprised and shocked. Alexis then tells Ciel to do his best as he inherited the "blood of a genius game strategist." Because Ciel does not believe in miracles, he plans to take his victory "by force" instead.
The next day, Sapphire Owl competes against Scarlet Fox. Although Blue House does terribly, the Phantomhive household (sans Snake who stayed at the manor), Elizabeth, Paula, and McMillan still cheer for Ciel's team. Lau and Ran-Mao watch the game too while they manage the betting shop they set up behind the stadium.
After the first innings, the teams retreat for a short break. Lawrence laments about their poor performance so far and suggests using his special tactic in this game already. However, because Sebastian is "in the lavatory," Ciel notes they should not make any strategy changes without their coach's approval and proposes himself as the next batter. Meanwhile, at Red House's break place, some Scarlet Fox students notice that the meat pie has been moved; the meat also seems to have changed from beef to chicken. Still, they and Joanne then distribute the pie among the Red Team, with Soma taking the largest piece.
In the second innings, Ciel bats while Joanne bowls until Joanne suddenly falls over. A moment later, the other Red House players except Soma collapse as well. Ciel watches by, satisfied that his first scheme has worked: During the pause, Sebastian exchanged into his regular butler attire and switched Red House's meat pie with one spiked with laxative.
While most of the Red Team manages to get up again and carefully leave the field, Joanne does not. Edgar wants to help him but his teammates hold him back because he cannot disgrace himself as the prefect. Thus, Edgar, like everyone else present, can only watch in horror as Joanne defecates in his pants. With Red House rendered unable to continue, Blue House automatically wins the game.
Elsewhere, Sebastian is carrying a picnic basket to Finnian, Baldroy, Mey-Rin, and the others when Tanaka intercepts him. Tanaka takes the basket from Sebastian and asks him if they will get diarrhea from this meat pie too. Sebastian chuckles and assures him they will not. Tanaka then tells Sebastian that he is looking forward to the second Miracle of Sapphires and leaves.
Meanwhile, in the second stadium, Violet Wolf plays against Green Lion. Despite Purple House's best efforts, they lose against the physically superior Green House. Gregory is unconcerned about his dorm's loss though as he spent the game carving Violet Wolf's emblem into the grass anyway.
Because Blue House meets Green House in the finale, Alexis excitedly tells Francis that the same happened the year of the Miracle of Sapphires. Francis cannot match her husband's enthusiasm though.
In the finale, Sebastian sets up an orchestra to cheer his team on by playing the Radetzky March. Though unconventional, no one stops him. The Blue Team's swings in the first innings are unconventional too: Despite swinging wildly with their eyes closed, Blue House's players still manage to hit every ball. The set-up baffles Edward and prompts him to figure out what exactly lies behind Blue House's odd strategy.
One week earlier, Ciel said at Blue House's strategy meeting that their team consisted of weaklings. For that reason, he suggested creating tactics that would bend but not break the rules; one of these tactics was to listen for a sound clue for when to swing the bat and hit the ball. Lawrence was against Ciel's proposal at first, stating that "it's not cricket," but soon agreed that nothing else would give them a chance of winnings.
Edward eventually looks through Sapphire Owl's tactic and sets out to destroy it: By using Cheslock's special move, Purple Burnout, which changes the ball's speed and height in the last moment, Edward manages to bowl the Blue House players out. Edward learned that move because he thinks of himself as mediocre and, therefore, orientates himself on the many talented geniuses around him, i.a. Elizabeth and the Weston College students. When Herman sees Edward use Cheslock's move and stand for a while lost in thought, he realizes that Edward must be calling himself "mediocre" again. Herman disagrees though as he thinks that Edward is a genius too, giving his "full respect" toward others' talents as Edward's talent.
With the "orchestra tactic" now destroyed, Sebastian thinks it is best to proceed to their next one but then he spots the headmaster on a balcony watching the game. Immediately, Sebastian quietly notifies Ciel and then rushes to chase after the headmaster, casting off his housemaster robe in the process.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
* Vincent Phantomhive 
* Diedrich 
* Alexis Leon Midford
* Edward Midford
* Elizabeth Midford
* McMillan
* Ciel Phantomhive
* Soma Asman Kadar
* Sebastian Michaelis
* Francis Midford
* Johann Agares
* Edgar Redmond
* Joanne Harcourt
* Lawrence Bluewer
* Clayton
* Koward
* Paula
* Mey-Rin
* Finnian
* Baldroy
* Tanaka
* Aleister Chamber
* Lau
* Ran-Mao
* Cheslock
* Gregory Violet
* Herman Greenhill
* Heinz
* The headmaster
==Navigation==
Category:Episodes
Category:Kuroshitsuji: Public School Arc