Land of the Lustrous

This chapter opens with a soliloquy by the diamond. He tells us that he's been observing the jellyfish, trying to figure out what they're telling him about his natural history. He's still not sure how to help, he says, because he doesn't know what to do. He wants to know what's wrong with him. He asks if he can help him with his "high standard" , which is a fancy way of saying that he wants to be the best diamond he can be. He says he can do this with a simple test, but that he can't do it with "complex and systematized" things like crystal structure and "creativity" . He also says that he has seen diamonds using a different fighting style recently, which isn't a good sign. He adds that high-attack power is cooler than high-endurance power, so don't try to get hurt by it. He then asks if the punk can talk to him. The punk says he'll give it a shot, but he'd better be strong, because if he isn'ta diamond, he'm not one. The diamond says he loves the punk, but if he wasn't strong, he wouldn't be a diamond at all. He explains that if he were to get angry with him, he would never be able to help him. So, he tells the punk that he won't help him if he suddenly wants to help.