In this short scene, the protagonist, who is now 17 years old, complains to his friend Hiroyuki that he has run out of food at a restaurant. He laments that he will not be able to eat at home at Christmas because his friend's girl is "crazy" . The protagonist then asks Hiroyuki to meet him behind the school building after school, where he can have a drink with a "menu girl friend." Hiroyuki agrees to meet the protagonist behind the building, and the two chat about the phantom Russian warship that Hiroyuki brought with him. Hiroyuki tells the protagonist that his room is "kind of awkward" and that he wonders what is going on at school. He asks the protagonist to give him his honest opinion on the plot of the novel, and he agrees that it is "just the basic ideas." The protagonist, however, feels that the novel is too "solid" to be solved in a logical manner.