Hiraoka had a career in the Japanese civil service, but he fought with his boss and was fired for mismanaging finance.
Terao intended to become a world-famous novelist but ended up in a part-time job translating works and writing short articles for low wages.
These two friends represent a world that Daisuke feels completely detached from, and he questions their reasons for working.
Furthermore, he cannot form any connection to modern society, which views education merely as the prelude to success in a bureaucratic order.
Because of Daisuke's detachment from everything, his family decides to continue their financial support for him only on the condition that he marries a woman they have chosen for him.