The Butler, Onstage (その執事、壇上, Sono Shitsuji, Danjō) is Chapter 24 of the Kuroshitsuji manga.
Summary
Sebastian and Ciel have entered a room of the Scotland Yard to get files about the children they have been asked to investigate. Because they are there illegally, they bribe the officer watching them, Fred Abberline.
After leaving, Ciel reads a letter from Queen Victoria, commenting on the Noah's Ark Circus. Wherever they have gone, a number of children have also gone missing. She has asked Ciel to find the children and return them to their families safely. On the surface, all of the children remain unaccounted for. In the interest of getting the investigation done with quickly, they pay a visit to Undertaker.
They show him the files Sebastian copied, and ask if any of the missing children have turned up among the corpses he sees. In order to get him to reveal his information, Undertaker requests that Ciel give him a laugh. When Ciel orders Sebastian to take care of it for him, Undertaker mocks him, calling him a child who cannot do anything without his butler. This upsets Ciel enough to send Sebastian outside and presumably make Undertaker laugh. Undertaker then says that he has not seen or heard of the children, but calls it a great clue. Sebastian concurs and says there is a high probability, then, that the children are still alive.
After deciding to investigate the circus firsthand, they go to see a performance. When they get to Beast's act, they invite a member from the audience down onto the stage. Sebastian stands up and Ciel agrees to let him go down, thinking Sebastian has a plan to investigate. However, it turns out that Sebastian just wanted to interact with the tiger, Betty. Betty bites Sebastian, which prompts Beast to whip the tiger. However, Sebastian stops the whip from making contact, saying that he was unintentionally rude and that the tiger did not do anything wrong.
After the show, Ciel reprimands Sebastian for standing out so much. Joker sees them leaving and approaches Sebastian, asking if he wants to get checked out by their doctor because of his tiger bite. Sebastian cheerfully agrees.
Characters in Order of Appearance
- Sebastian Michaelis
- Ciel Phantomhive
- Fred Abberline
- Soma Asman Kadar
- Agni
- Undertaker
- Joker
- Jumbo
- Wendy
- Peter
- Dagger
- Doll
- Snake
- Beast
