Hyuuga vs Konatsu

Summary
Konatsu announces himself, enters Hyuuga's room and finds Hyuuga asleep. Konatsu shouts that Hyuuga is already an hour late for work, and tries to wake Hyuuga, but to no avail. He then makes a loud smacking sound with a belt, finally waking Hyuuga, who panics, thinking that Ayanami is about to punish him. Hyuuga tells Konatsu that he had been having a nightmare, in which Ayanami forced him to keep popping bubblewrap and punished him with a whip when he questioned the meaning of his task.

Hyuuga remarks that such a task is cruel, expecting Konatsu to agree with him, but Konatsu merely replies that if Hyuuga doesn't hurry and get going, he "will be in the position of inexcusably popping bubblewrap." Konatsu informs Hyuuga that his military uniform and some hot coffee have been prepared, to Hyuuga's delight.

As Hyuuga praises Konatsu for being thoughtful and starts to thank him, Konatsu looks at a vase in Hyuuga's room and accidentally spills the coffee on Hyuuga's lap. Hyuuga shouts that his "children are dying", but Konatsu ignores this and asks Hyuuga why he is in possession of such a vase. Hyuuga replies that it is a vase that makes bosses kinder, and that he bought the vase for Ayanami to become kinder. Konatsu states that he had also bought the vase before, but at a much lower price than the one Hyuuga had paid. Hyuuga is shocked by this, and the two decide to consult Katsuragi.

Katsuragi states that both Hyuuga's and Konatsu's vases are worth only 5000 Yuus (Barsburg currency; 1 yuus=2 yen). Upset, Konatsu calls himself foolish for relying on an object and resolves to continue working hard. Katsuragi mutters that Hyuuga will "sabotage" Konatsu's hard work, then tells Hyuuga and Konatsu that "those kinds of people (the sellers of such vases) are able to see through their target's gait in an instant and reliably predict the peak value the target would pay, then demand said value."

Hyuuga says that he will ask the man who sold him the vase if it is the genuine article. Katsuragi advises Hyuuga to arrest the man instead. At that moment, Konatsu loses his temper, and the chapter ends with Hyuuga in pain again, possibly because Konatsu attacked him.

Characters in order of Appearance

 * Hyuuga
 * Konatsu Warren
 * Ayanami
 * Unnamed vase seller
 * Katsuragi (current)