37. His Butler, Presenting

His Butler, Presenting
Kanji	その執事、披露
Rōmaji	Sono Shitsuji, Hirō
Ep. number	37
Arc	Circus Arc
Air date
Japanese	July 11, 2014
Music
Opening	ENAMEL
Ending	N/A
Chronology
Previous episode	Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji II)
Next episode	His Butler, Taking the Stage

His Butler, Presenting (その執事、披露, Sono Shitsuji, Hirō) is the thirty-seventh episode of the Kuroshitsuji anime, and the first episode of Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus.

Summary

Ciel Phantomhive recalls being saved by Sebastian Michaelis from the cultists. One morning in Phantomhive Manor, Sebastian sets off to complete his butler duties. Sebastian wakes Ciel up, and Ciel shortly reads a newspaper detailing about Cedric Brandel, who is to acquire a long established tea manufacturer; he is also an acquaintance of Lau that will be visiting Ciel. Ciel tells Sebastian to treat him with hospitality.

Ciel proceeds with dancing lessons instructed by Mrs. Mayerl. In the meantime, Sebastian assigns Baldroy, Finnian, Mey-Rin, and Tanaka their tasks for the day. He warns them to stay out of sight when their expected guests arrive. In the afternoon, Ciel and Sebastian occupy themselves with carrying out their respective responsibilities; however, the latter is constantly interrupted when the Phantomhive servants poorly perform their individual tasks—he is obliged to step in and fix the errors.

That night, Lau, Ran-Mao, and Cedric reach the Phantomhive Manor, with Cedric positive that he will succeed, even against Ciel. While Sebastian is pouring them wine, Mey-Rin accidentally knocks down a myriad of cups, but Sebastian rescues them all before there is a spill. Subsequently, Ciel and the guests eat dinner. Ciel insists that Cedric gets down to business, and Cedric declares that he wants his new company "to market to children for sustained profitability," and proposes to work with Ciel and his Funtom Corporation.

Later, Cedric privately complains to Lau about Ciel, and Lau asserts that Ciel is, indeed, the Queen's Watchdog. Cedric says that they can move weapons cheaply, using trade routes developed for tea, but adds that no ports would allow him to unload said weapons for fear of the Watchdog; he is thoroughly unconvinced with the Watchdog's alleged might. Lau asks about his plans, and Cedric reveals that at eight o'clock that night, he would have hitmen eliminate Ciel. Lau states that he will look forward to seeing how events unfold.

Cedric returns to where Ciel and Sebastian are and comments that Lau has excused himself to attend to some business. Sebastian presents the dessert dish that they suggest would go well with Cedric's flavored tea because it also involves a game.

Cedric mocks Ciel for thinking childishly, and proclaims that the two things he hates most are "cocky brats" and "bets that do not make money." It is eight o'clock then, and Ciel and Sebastian get attacked by hitmen. However, when Cedric stands up from his hiding spot, he realizes that things have returned to normal—he has visualized it all. Cedric is greatly agitated and confused, as a result. While eating, he suddenly spits out a bullet, which Sebastian discloses is from the hitmen he hired, who had arrived earlier than he—in fact, during the afternoon. Sebastian has annihilated them then.

Cedric is bewildered by the fact that Sebastian has taken them all on alone. Ciel says that Lau has told him Cedric was dealing guns in the black market, and Cedric is stunned by Lau's betrayal. Ciel clarifies that Lau has always been on his side, not Cedric's.

Impulsively, Cedric begins shooting with his gun, but to no avail, since Sebastian manages to catch all the bullets. He destroys Cedric's gun, causing Cedric to bleed from the hand. Cedric attempts to run away, but Sebastian stops him, claiming that he has forgotten one thing, and puts a crown atop his head. Cedric calls him a monster, and the lights go out. Sebastian agrees and displays his demon form.

Ciel informs Cedric that the reason no one knows what punishment the Queen's Watchdog inflicts is that "dead men tell no tales." Both Ciel and Sebastian show their Faustian contract seals, and Cedric screams out of terror before getting killed.

Later, Lau and Ran-Mao enter the room where Ciel and Sebastian are, with Lau asking if Ciel is "all finished." Lau hands over an envelope, claiming that "the lads in white" (i.e. Charles Grey, Charles Phipps, and John Brown, the Queen's butlers) have given him it. Ciel opens the envelope to see tickets to the traveling circus coming to London.

Elsewhere, the Noah's Ark Circus strolls flamboyantly through the streets of London. Joker introduces them, announcing that the "show of the century has arrived."

At midnight, Ciel heads to bed, remarking that their game today was dull. Sebastian promises to stay loyal as a servant to him so that he can fulfill his "foolish" revenge. Ciel, subsequently, asks Sebastian to stay with him until he falls asleep, and the latter complies.

Characters in Order of Appearance

Ciel Phantomhive Sebastian Michaelis Mrs. Mayerl Mey-Rin Finnian Baldroy Tanaka Lau Ran-Mao Cedric Brandel

John Brown Charles Grey Charles Phipps Jumbo Dagger Snake Doll Beast Joker

Trivia

• Yana Toboso wrote the script for this episode.
• While the episode does not adapt a specific chapter of the manga, it contains elements of several chapters:
  • The opening sentence of Chapter 5,
  • the black cat from Chapter 5,
  • the newspaper advertisement for Noah's Ark Circus from Chapter 23,
  • Mey-Rin's mistake and Sebastian's fix from Chapter 5,
  • John sneakily passing on the Queen's letter and tickets to the circus to Ciel from Chapter 22, though he is now accompanied by Grey and Phipps and hands the envelope to Lau instead of secretly putting it in Ciel's pocket, and
  • the parade introduction of the circus members from Chapter 22.
• The newspaper Sebastian irons for Ciel also contains an article titled "CONSULTING DETECTIVE: The solution after the other — the unsolved case," which is likely a reference to Sherlock Holmes.