The narrator and his friend, Natsuo, go for a walk. The narrator is impressed by the alien-ation scene in the novel, but he feels that the author's skill in composition and story-telling are making his work seem contrived and toothless. He wonders if the author, Shikata, might be able to give the narrator a run for his money. He asks the narrator to take a break from the book, but the narrator refuses, saying that he'll keep going until he's done with it. He tells his friend that he wants to be a novelist, but that he doesn't remember exactly when he decided to do so. He says that he used to read in middle school and high school, and that he loved the little things in life, like fairy tales and the ball pit. He wants to become a writer, he says, because he loves to be surprised and loved to be taken in by people. He's not sure if the narrator can tell where they're going on the hike, but they decide to go.