That Butler, New Face

That Butler, Cogitating 2

"My apologies for having kept you waiting," Sebastian said as he came into the sitting room, where Ciel, Lau, an Soma had been playing cards while waiting, ready to serve them his first attempt at making curry with the  proper fresh spices. "I present you with a curry of tender chicken stewed with spices and the savor of onions. I topped it off simply with some coriander and yogurt." Soma stared at Sebastian, stunned. An idiot hair popped out on his head.

"Lau, I win with that card," Ciel deadpanned, pointing at the card Lau had just discarded.

"Ehhh, I've been haaad~!" Lau said, smiling wryly.

"I'm tired of Old Maid," Ciel said boredly. This made his eighth win in a row, now.

"Then shall we play Old Man~?" Lau joked.

"You're already done!?" Soma asked, shocked. How was that even possible!? Wasn't Ciel's khansama a novice!? And why were the others so calm about this incredible feat...? "It's only been about two hours since you began—"

"Yes, it unfortunately took me a full two hours," Sebastian said, sighing regretfully. "Please forgive me for forcing you to wait for so long," he said apologetically as he served them his curry. "I see Chêne is not here yet..." Sebastian said, glancing at the door briefly, before pulling up a fourth chair to the table.

"Yes, I believe she is still taking care of her daily chores..." Ciel said,  trailing off as Chêne waltzed into the room. He sweat-dropped. Sebastian must have 'called' her...

"Ooh, that smells great~! That was fast, as expected," Chêne said, smiling brightly as she sat down at her place, and Sebastian pushed her chair in for her. The butler smirked. He was certain Chêne would enjoy his curry this time. Her reaction was already much more favorable, and she had only smelled it.

"And this aroma, it's... almost like Agni's curry," Soma said, closing his eyes as he inhaled the savory aroma. "How in the world... and in such a short time...?" Soma asked, amazed.

"It was simple," Sebastian said, smirking. "I just sampled all of the spices," Sebastian said, giving Soma his trademark shit-eating grin.

"Each and everyone of them!? The whole lot?" Soma asked incredulously, turning blue with shock. Was Ciel's khansama really human!?

"Yes," Sebastian said bluntly, still smiling. "To return to the point at hand, I then blended the spices to match the fragrance of the curry Mister Agni cooked for breakfast the other day as closely as possible," he explained.

"And that was all it took to recreate the aroma?" Soma asked, amazed.

"My sense of smell is a tad better than that of most humans," Sebastian said, smirking slightly as he lightly tapped his nose.

"Come, come, your highness. 'It is better to get down to work than to worry about it,' as they say. Why not have a bite first?" Lau said, smiling.

"Y-Yes, all right," Soma said as he sat back down in his chair.

"Time to eat~!" Chêne said excitedly.

"Let's get staaarted~!" Lau said, smiling as he picked up his spoon. "This aroma is very different from the last. The spices present an extraordinary bouquet," he said as they all took a bite. "My, this is... delicious!!" Lau exclaimed excitedly. The flavor of the freshly ground spices whets your appetite, and... the stewed Chicken is so tender, it practically melts in your mouth," he praised. Chêne was still sampling the new curry, which was a good sign, because the more she ate and the more she savored each bite, the more it meant that she liked it. It meant that this curry was at least worthy of actually being judged by her.