The chapter opens with a soliloquy by a young man named Kengo, who has just returned from Australia. He tells Kengo that his son, Goto, has been sent away to a school for boys, and that his father has paid a fine and a settlement money to Kengo's family. Kengo asks Kengo what he should do while he's under house arrest, and Kengo tells him to work on his homework. When Kengo says that he wants to learn more about the school, Kengo explains that before he went to school, he heard rumors that his friend, Voluntari, had left the school. He wanted to follow him, so he decided to go to the school instead.