Now seated at the table, Rentarou introduces himself as Shizuka's boyfriend.
Mrs. Yoshimoto realizes that it was Rentarou's idea for Shizuka to start using a text-to-speech app. She coldly tells him to stay away from Shizuka, accusing him of using Shizuka for his own self-satisfaction of feeling like a hero.
She asks if he's ever seen a productive member of society use a text-to-speech app to communicate.
We cut to the flashback seen in Shizuka's debut chapter. Mrs. Yoshimoto is frustrated with her daughter's inability to use words and thinks that she needs to fix it immediately. After all, Shizuka's already in middle school. Is she going to be like that even as an adult? What if something happens to Mrs. Yoshimoto? After all, Shizuka's father is almost always working abroad, and even if he weren't, Mrs. Yoshimoto is going to die before Shizuka anyway. What will happen to Shizuka when that time comes?
She comes to the conclusion that the reason this hasn't been fixed is because she hasn't been strict enough. She's spoiled her. Shizuka's inability to speak verbally is her mother's fault.
Back in the present, Mrs. Yoshimoto tells Rentarou that all he's been doing is keeping Shizuka from growing. Surely she'll end up suffering in the future. Rentarou counters by pointing out that Shizuka's suffering right now. All he wants is to keep Shizuka from suffering another day in her life.
Mrs. Yoshimoto call him naive; He's only fifteen or sixteen, so he hasn't really experienced life. As he gets older, he's bound to meet lots of different girls, so she's skeptical that his relationship with Shizuka will last. Internally, she's certain he'll eventually leave Shizuka, and if it has to happen, it might as well happen now.
She asks Shizuka if she thinks she can hold onto Rentarou's love for the rest of her life. Rentarou protests that he will love her for the rest of both of their lives. He admits that he doesn't know everything about the world, but he does know everything about Shizuka. He espouses her kindness and courage for the people she cares about.
So what if she's not good at speaking? He loves her because she is who she is. Why does she need to be like everyone else? Has Shizuka ever implied that that's what she wants? This causes Mrs. Yoshimoto to remember the various times in Shizuka's life where she spoke to her verbally.
Finally, Shizuka herself speaks up, using her voice to tell her mother how happy she is to read her books, be with her friends and Rentarou, and how happy she is to be alive, thanking her. Her words move her mother to tears. Mrs. Yoshimoto lowers her head and asks Rentarou to leave. Without a word, he does so, noting that she's likely spent years agonizing over the issue and that there is no easy solution.
The next morning, Shizuka wakes up to see her phone on her desk. She walks down the stairs and tells her mother "good morning" with the app. Her mother returns the greeting. They eat breakfast and have a conversation where Shizuka asks her to teach her the recipe. The conversation moves them both to tears.
When Shizuka tries to verbally thank Rentarou for his help yesterday, he tells her to do so in her usual way. Nano whispers in Shizuka's ear that there's a more efficient way to thank Rentarou using her mouth.
Shyly, Shizuka gets on her tiptoes to give Rentarou a kiss.
End chapter.
Tropes:
- Armor-Piercing Question: Rentarou gets his point across by asking if Shizuka ever said she wanted to be like everyone else.
