That Butler, New Face

That Butler, Cogitating

{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.