Prologue — A Woman's Tears Are a Weapon, You Know
It was a space where translucent blue crystals bloomed like flowers in every direction.
Each crystal cast a luminous glow, as if competing to be noticed.
In that dreamlike yet eerily mystical place, the rough-faced man before me drew a dagger from inside his coat.
"You fucking bitch!"
Deep fear and urgency were written plain across his face.
Nobody would have said a word if he'd simply stood there, entranced by the beautiful scenery, admiring the crystals all around.
"Get the hell away from me!"
Slash! Swish!
The man swung his dagger wildly through empty air.
It seemed to work — the person in front of him froze in place. But something he saw then sent an even deeper look of bewilderment across his face.
"Crazy bitch…"
That was too much.
I was simply… this situation. I felt sorry for the man who couldn't appreciate this romantic setting filled with beautiful crystals, who instead stood there with every nerve on edge. I was just so sad.
A few tears had slipped out, that was all.
A single tear rolled down my cheek and fell to the floor with a soft plip.
And that tear…
Crack.
It swelled in volume, becoming a translucent crystal glowing with luminous blue light.
With sharp spines jutting out in every direction, it looked a bit like a hedgehog — kind of cute, actually. I let out a small, amused laugh.
But the man's face turned ashen at the sight.
Looking at me with eyes like that… it hurts a little, you know.
I wiped away another tear that was rolling down with the index finger of my left hand.
"Aaaagh! Get away from me!"
Suddenly the man stepped forward and swung his dagger.
"Ah…!"
Startled, I thrust out my left hand to block it — and a pale, slender arm entered my field of vision.
Crack…
The middle finger, index finger, and thumb of my left hand — the ones that had wiped away the tears — along with the area around them, became covered in a thin film of crystal.
Clang!
The man's dagger, colliding with my index finger, snapped cleanly in two.
"Ah…"
It had looked like an expensive dagger, too…
Suddenly feeling apologetic, I let out a sigh and looked at him. The man was backing away with a terror-stricken expression, as if trying to flee.
Ah, no. If he runs away, I won't be able to apologize.
A tear that had gathered at the tip of my chin drifted freely through the air and settled onto one of the man's feet.
Crack-crack-crack!
The tear that landed on his foot swelled into crystal, pinning it to the floor.
"Eek!"
The terrified man dropped to one knee and began striking the crystal with the broken dagger.
"Please! Please! Please!"
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
He swung so frantically that the palm gripping the dagger tore open, blood streaming down.
Whoa… that really looks like it hurts.
I gently stroked my own palm, feeling as though it had been cut too.
"Mmm…"
When I reached him, he stopped swinging and looked up at me with trembling eyes.
Hmm… isn't this pose a little romantic?
Looking at the man kneeling on one knee, gazing up at me with trembling eyes, my heart fluttered as if I were receiving a proposal. But in reality, he was only doing it because he was scared of me…
It's fine. I already know that.
I stretched out my two slender arms and carefully caressed both of his cheeks.
A flicker of fluster crossed the man's eyes.
Still… I didn't mean to scare him, but being hated like this… it makes me a little sad.
My eyes misted over slightly, and a tear fell with a soft plip.
It landed on the forehead of the man looking up at me.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
The fallen tear gradually swelled in size, until at last the man's entire body was wrapped in beautiful crystal.
"Wrapped" was a bit of a stretch — with crystal spines jutting out all over, you couldn't even tell who it was…
But the protagonists will like it, right?
The girl reflected in the translucent blue crystal smiled prettily.
Lustrous white hair cascading all the way down her back, and eyes tinged with a pale red. Soft pink lips curved in a gentle, kindly smile.
My goodness, who on earth could be that beautiful?
"…"
My goodness — it was me!
It was a face so pretty that I couldn't help but break into a silly grin every time I saw it.
"Ehehe."
Letting out a pleased little hum that came out on its own, I leisurely exited the building.
What should I eat for dinner tonight? Since I did something good, treating myself to something delicious wouldn't be bad, right?
I spun around and looked back inside the building — crystals roughly the size of people stood lined up in rows. From a distance, the larger ones looked like single flowers. With so many of those pretty crystal flowers gathered together, it looked like the most beautiful flower field imaginable.
"How pretty…"
I marveled, habitually resting my left hand against my cheek — then realized my fingers were still hardened into crystal.
"I completely forgot."
I gave my left hand a light shake, and the crystal became a single teardrop again, scattering into the air.
"Hmm, since today is a special day, maybe I'll try a hamburger?"
As I turned toward the hamburger shop, I could almost already smell the burgers.