I own nothing but my OC.
That Butler, Cogitating
≤speech in Indian language≥
'thoughts'
"speech"
"Demonic speech"
{setting/stage directions?}
SOUND EFFECTS
An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration for dreams or stuff like written letters.
=†=†=†=†= scene shift/time shift
Previously:
"So the 'right hand of god'..." Ciel said, chagrined, sweat dropping. Was this for real?
"... Refers not to godly 'strength,' but to godly 'curry making skills'?" Lau asked, finishing Ciel's sentence.
"Fabulous..." Chêne deadpanned, sighing. She knew Agni was good from how awesome his curry had smelled before, but they were pretty much complete novices against a 'curry god.' She could sense a lot of sleepless nights and hard work in her future...
"There you have it. Sebastian?" Ciel said calmly.
"Heh." Sebastian said, smirking devilishly, as he held his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Well, well... I seem to have found myself up against a formidable adversary." Sebastian mused. He was clearly looking forward to the challenge.
{The Phantomhive Downstairs, the kitchen...}
CHOP. CHOP. CHOP.
The warm and gentle morning sunlight began to stream through the kitchen window as Sebastian chopped the vegetables for his first attempt at curry. The others were all changing into fresh clothes, and possibly even taking a short nap, since they had ended up staying awake all night, while he cooked. Ciel had decided that Sebastian was to be the one who cooked the curry for the competition, and Chêne would only be allowed to help him by critiquing the food, since her taste buds were as sensitive as a pro's. Ciel had ordered Sebastian to create the perfect curry to defeat Agni on his own, since he would be on his own when he cooked during the competition too, and it was more interesting that way, since it was a battle between two 'ridiculously talented' butlers, which suited Sebastian just fine. The demon butler had decided to begin cooking curry the same way he had learned to cook everything else. Start with an existing recipe, and learn the basics from it. Then, adapt the recipe to his needs, and have Chêne act as his guinea pig, and let him know if it needed any adjustments.
"Nnhuh? Sebastian, yer up awful early." Bard commented sleepily as he stumbled into the kitchen with Mei-Rin and Finny.
"Good morning, it is!" Mei-Rin greeted him brightly, blushing a little.
"Gooood Morniiiiin'~!" Finni called out cheerfully.
"What the heck you makin' at this hour? Shouldn't Chêne be making our breakfast?" Bard asked, yawning as he scratched his head. "Where is she?"
"That would be curry." Sebastian replied as he placed the chopped vegetables in the frying pan, so he could brown them properly. "Chêne is catching up on some much needed sleep at the moment, as she had a rather tiring night. Do not disturb her." Unlike Sebastian, Chêne still needed a certain amount of sleep to be able to fully function properly, and he needed her to be at her best when she assessed his curry.
"Huh, ain't that a rare sight." Bard said. Normally, Sebastian would literally drag Chêne out of bed if she refused to wake up, no matter what the reason.
'A t-t-t-tiring night—!?' Mei-Rin yelled internally, also finding it strange that Sebastian was being so lenient on Chêne. 'C-Could it be... They really did have a tryst last night, and Mister Sebastian is being so considerate because they—!?' Mei-Rin thought excitedly, slapping her hands over her face as her nose started to bleed. Bard, though he was still half asleep, noticed the maid's reaction, and sweat dropped. He didn't even want to know...
"So... What kinda curry?" Bard asked, deciding to ignore Mei-Rin's awkward nosebleed, as the bespectacled maid mumbled something to herself that sounded like 'N-No, you mustn't, Mister Sebastian...! Chêne's purity will...!'
"With Prince Soma still in residence and all, I think perhaps chicken curry might be best." Sebastian said calmly as he read the recipe again, also choosing to ignore Mei-Rin's strange behavior, finding that he did not particularly care whether she misunderstood or not... though Chêne's reaction, if she found out, would undoubtedly be highly amusing. "Though I have not made it often in the past, since Young Master is not fond of spicy foods..." Actually, it was more like he had never made it before... Sebastian set the book down and clapped his hands, ready to begin. "Now then." The demon butler said as he went to work, carrying out each step as he read the instructions.
Chop the onions finely and sauté them in butter.
Once the onions are cooked, add diced chicken, curry paste, curry powder, Bengali chutney, and lime and mango pickle to the sauté.
Pour water over the sautéed Chicken and let cook for one and a half hours.
Once the water has all but boiled away, add a dollop of cream and serve.
"Waah~! Looks yummy~!!" Finni said, drooling slightly as he gazed longingly at the finished plate of curry Sebastian was holding. "Smells delish tooo~!"
"With a curry like this, that Agni feller doesn't stand a chance!" Bard said, grinning as he slung an arm around Sebastian's shoulder, and Mei-Rin nodded vigorously in approval. Despite their glowing praise, Sebastian remained straight-faced. Even if it smelled delicious, it had not yet been tasted by his critic... and Chêne took food rather seriously.
=†=†=†=†=
{The Phantomhive Dining Hall...}
"YUCK!!" Soma cried bluntly in disgust, turning slightly blue, his eyes wide with shock. Sebastian, Ciel, and Lau stared at him, stunned. Chêne's eyes were hidden by her bangs as she sat in her chair, frozen mid-bite. They had all just taken their first bite of Sebastian's curry (except for Ciel, who had been about to, before Soma blurted out his uncensored opinion) after he served it to him, but Lau had personally found it extremely delicious.
"Was it not to your taste?" Sebastian asked, concerned. Chêne was being strangely silent. Normally, she would already have told him her opinion by now, good or bad...
"Gyah!" Soma yelped, flinching, when he realized that he had just been incredibly rude to such a scary person again. "I-It's not that... it's just very different from the curry that I always eat in India, so, well... and this is good in its own way... um..." Soma mumbled incoherently, terrified that Sebastian might 'scold' him again. Sebastian stared blankly at Soma. Was he expected to understand that incoherent babbling?
"It is fine. Please, continue." Sebastian said reassuringly, hoping the prince would make more sense if he calmed down. Soma sighed in relief and relaxed, once he heard that, and realized he wasn't in any danger.
"Yes, Soma. Just tell him the truth. Sugar-coating it won't help Sebastian improve at all." Chêne said coolly as she finished chewing and swallowed as she lowered her spoon, placing it beside her plate, and crossing her arms. Chêne closed her eyes and sighed deeply before turning to Sebastian. "I'm disappointed in you, Sebastian." Chêne said gravely, staring the butler right in the eye. They all stared at Chêne, stunned. Sebastian looked like he had turned to stone in his shock. Ciel sweat dropped. He had never heard Chêne give Sebastian such harsh criticism before... it had been a fatal blow. "Go ahead and tell him what you think, Soma. I'm so unnerved by... 'this'... that I can't even think of anything to say at the moment!" Chêne said, shaking her head in disappointment.
"A-All right..." Soma said, sweat dropping. He felt a little sorry for Sebastian after seeing his reaction to Chêne's rejection. "First, the flavor is weak, and it has no aroma. Not to mention it's gritty, so the texture is rough on the tongue. This doesn't count as curry." Soma said cautiously.
"I agree completely, Soma." Chêne said. She turned to Sebastian. "To be honest, if I had not been expecting 'curry,' I probably wouldn't have had as much of a problem with this dish, but even then, the texture is annoying. It reminds me of the time Tyler Rousseau dared me to eat dirt." Ciel and Sebastian sweat dropped as the others stared at her in disbelief. They had heard that story from Lacey when they were in her world... if Chêne had backed out of that dare, then she would have had to kiss this 'Tyler.' He probably thought that Chêne would choose to kiss him, rather than eat dirt, so Chêne went a head and ate a spoonful of dirt, just to spite him for using such a despicable trap. Apparently a girl's first kiss was extremely important, and Chêne didn't want to have hers that way...
"How odd. Even after I used the best curry powder available... Hmm." Sebastian said thoughtfully. A vein mark throbbed on Chêne's forehead.
'Uh-oh...' They all thought. Chêne had just snapped for some reason...
"Did you just say 'curry powder'?" Chêne demanded darkly as she slammed her hand on the table. "I cannot believe you! We're supposed to be entering a culinary contest, aren't we!? Did you seriously think using a premixed powder was acceptable? If curry powder was an acceptable ingredient for making amazing curry, do you think my family would have no recipe? Anyone can make a 'pseudo curry' using curry powder! No self-respecting chef would use it." Chêne said sternly, fuming. "Forget about defeating the 'god of curry'—at the moment, you aren't even close to being able to compete with Mr. Raja, either."
"My, my, Miss Maid really has no mercy when it comes to the culinary arts~!" Lau said, smiling. He hadn't expected to see such an interesting reaction.
"Why can't you ever be this serious about the other work I give you...?" Ciel asked her, sweat dropping. Good food was a major part of the culture in New Orleans, and it was in Chêne's blood to take cooking and eating very seriously. One of her grandfathers had been a professional chef, after all, and her family was friends with another family who owned a famous restaurant...
"My apologies. You are quite right. I should have known better." Sebastian said, smiling wryly. He had been properly chastised. He had been initially shocked, since he had gotten so used to Chêne's usual sparkling and radiant reaction of being overjoyed, and immensely pleased with whatever he fed her, but he could see her point now. It was a valid argument, and she wasn't the type to criticize someone to this point unless she really thought they deserved it.
"?" Soma said, wondering why Chêne was so worked up. "Curry powder? What is that?" he asked a little nervously. Was it something bad?
"In the current era, curry, which Anglo-Indians brought back to their homeland upon their return, has taken a firm root in British cuisine, but since the blending of spices is difficult for the amateur, the spices are ground up and blended together, and sold as prepackaged curry powder." Chêne explained.
"I've never seen anything like that in India, and Agni didn't use it either. At least as far as I know..." Soma said.
"Yes, that's probably because spices determine the color and heat of curry, but what is most important is their flavor." Chêne said, nodding. "When they aren't freshly ground, their aroma evaporates."
"Yes, at my palace, I have ≤masalchi≥ dedicated to that task alone." Soma said, nodding in agreement and understanding.
"That's why your 'curry' is so weak." Chêne said. "The prepackage curry powder lost most of its flavor already, and when packaged together like that, the individual flavors become indistinguishable from one another... It's like the flowers at that florist's we went to one time when Ciel needed flowers for an event—the one that has that new special 'refrigerator.' The flowers last longer, and look nice, but because they were all in one confined space for so long, they absorbed the scents from the other flowers, and lost their own individual perfumes." Chêne hoped that comparison would help Sebastian understand better. His sense of 'taste' for human food might suck, but his sense of smell was unparalleled.
"So in other words, using something like curry powder, in which the spices have been ground up prior to being packaged and sold, really is completely out of the question." Sebastian said seriously. This was much more involved than he had originally thought it would be.
"Yes, and depending on what he put into it, the soup of Agni's curry would look and taste different. I think he chose and blended the spices to complement the ingredients." Soma added.
"Yes, I noticed that Mister Agni used shellfish in his curry before, but I think chicken was an excellent choice, since we plan on winning." Chêne said, smiling at Sebastian. "We will need to be able to reproduce this dish for many different types of customers, and chicken is something anyone can eat with worrying about allergies, or if the meat is 'in season,' like you would with seafood. It will also make our curry more affordable, and with the right spices, chicken can be very elegant and gourmet." Sebastian smiled. At least he had gotten something right...
"Then, we must first track down fresh spices of the best quality." Sebastian said.
"In that, West has the advantage. His company controls the distribution, so he can secure the best bunch for himself." Ciel said.
"I fear we are running short on time. Let us find ourselves some traders..." Sebastian said thoughtfully, trailing off when he remembered who was in the room with him. That's right. Lau was a branch manager of a trading company.
"..." They all said as they stared pointedly at Lau, who was peacefully eating Sebastian's failed curry.
"Hm~?" Lau said innocently, wondering why they were all staring so pointedly at him. Even if they couldn't use it for the contest, it was still delicious... Was it so strange that he was eating something delicious...?
=†=†=†=†=
{Two days later...}
"Amazing~!!" Soma said, in complete awe of all the bushels and sacks of spices Lau had gathered and had shipped to the townhouse for them. "I've seen all of these back home in my country!" Soma said, impressed, as he began examining a few bags of spices that were already opened while Sebastian, Chêne, Bard, and Finni (pretty much all of the servants with a reasonable amount of upper arm strength) moved the large sacks inside.
"Wooow~!! So this stuff aaaaall goes into curry, huh!?" Finni asked, amazed as he stared at all the sacks piled up around them, effortlessly carrying five of the huge sacks over his shoulder.
"Yes... but not all at once, Finni." Chêne said, smiling wryly as she picked up one sack and hoisted it over her shoulder. She could probably handle another one, but since Bard seemed to be struggling to lift just one of the heavy sacks, she figured that would be too suspiciously strong for a short teenage girl... even Sebastian was only taking two at a time, since he seemed to be actually making an effort to appear human today.
"Don'tcha dare drop 'em now!" Bard warned Finni, sweating nervously as he gripped a sack. Sebastian would kill them if they screwed this up...!
"Each one has a beguiling perfume. These spices are indeed the finest money can buy." Sebastian said, smirking slightly as he too examined the spices in the open bags, scooping some up in his hand, and inhaling the fragrant aroma. He could see what Chêne had been trying to say about the curry powder's scent now. The aroma of the pre-ground spices and the fresh spices were as different as day and night.
"To have me collect this all in the span of a day... what a slave driver you are, Lord Earl~! Spices are outside my area of expertise, you know." Lau said, smiling wryly, as he sighed. "Oh, the trouble I had to go through to get these~!"
"Hmph! I suppose even you have your uses in time like these." Ciel said, smirking. He knew there was a reason why he tolerated Lau...
"Well, having the Funtom Corporation owe me one is hardly a bad thing." Lau said, smiling.
"And you ordered everything in bulk, so we have enough to make lots of different curries without worrying about running out before the contest." Chêne said, grinning like a kid in a candy store. "I can't wait to try Sebastian's curry now~! It's been so long since I've had good curry~!"
"Then without further delay, let us prepare a curry with these." Sebastian said as he dropped the spices in his hand back into the bag, and stood up. "Prince Soma. As only you know the taste of Mister Agni's godly curry... may I depend on your guidance, in addition to Chêne's of course, as to flavor and so forth?" He requested politely.
"That's fine with me, but... can you, an Englishman, manage to use all these spices?" Soma asked skeptically, sweat dropping. "Ah!" He gasped, realizing he has just sassed Sebastian again. "No, I mean... I'm not making fun of you!!" Soma said nervously as he quickly hid behind Ciel and Chêne, causing them to sweat drop. "Just... it must be hard since you're not used to them..."
"I am much obliged by your concern." Sebastian said, smirking slightly. How amusing. "I think I shall need some time, but let us go about this steadily and see where it takes us." Sebastian placed a hand over his chest as he tilted his head slightly to the side and flashed them all a brilliant shit-eating grin. "I beg your patience until the curry is complete."
"Will he really be okay?" Soma asked Ciel and Chêne, sweat dropping. Where did he get all that confidence from? "I'm worried..."
"Probably." Chêne said, smiling confidently. "Sebastian might not have a 'right hand of god,' but he's not your average butler either.
"We'll have to wait and see." Ciel said as he yawned really big. "Maybe this calls for an afternoon nap." His internal clock had been completely messed after he lost a whole night of sleep.
"Just don't sleep too long, or you won't be able to fall asleep later tonight, when you need to." Chêne warned Ciel as she followed after him. She decided to take care of some of Sebastian's chores for him while he was cooking, since Ciel had strictly said not to help him with the curry, other than taste testing. She found that a little strange, but she didn't doubt that Sebastian would manage to come up with something without her help, so whatever.
