The chapter opens with a soliloquy by the narrator, in which he laments the fact that he has not spoken to the reader about his love for shinji. He says that he does not want to marry a woman who does not even like him, and that he will not withdraw from the marriage. The narrator then tells the reader that he was in an infirmary when he spoke to him. He apologizes for the delay in replying to his messages, and he says that if he were to fail in his marriage to shinji, he would not be a failure for the sake of the family. He adds that if there were children in the home of the couple, they would be their children.