As soon as she got out of the police car, without needing any urging, Gold Legend skillfully made her way to a cell in the detention center.
She greeted the young lady at the front desk, collected the key, and then voluntarily walked into the cell that was already half her room.
After walking in and closing the door herself, Gold Legend belatedly spoke to the tardy Police Officer.
"By the way, Uncle, what's the reason for arresting me this time? I don't think I committed any crime today?"
"I don't know, I got a notification to go to the scene, saw it was you, and just cuffed you. It's definitely not a big deal anyway, at most they'll just hold you overnight."
"That's true!" Gold Legend nodded.
"Anyway, keep the key. If you have an emergency, just come out yourself, but remember to register when you leave."
"Okay~" Gold Legend replied obediently, "Oh, will there be dinner tonight?"
"What do you want to eat? I'll get it for you."
"I want pork cutlet rice!"
"The usual, right? Got it."
The Police Officer waved his hand and left with a casual swagger.
"Yosh! Alright, let's continue our discussion from earlier."
Lying down on her Simmons bed, Legend seemed to have had her bones removed, falling into a state of surrender.
"Tsk tsk, with this setup, I'd believe you if you said this was a five-star hotel," Flower said, admiring the cell's furnishings.
"Generally speaking, in this country, money can solve most problems."
So it's not worth praising.
Feather remained as calm as ever.
"But how amazing must a person be to specifically decorate a prison cell for themselves?"
"As amazing as her," Feather said, pointing to Legend sprawled on the bed.
"I always feel like you're implying something about me." Legend sat up.
"No doubt." Feather replied.
"What's the big deal? I come in every now and then, can't I enjoy myself?" Legend was unconvinced.
"The location of your enjoyment is indeed quite peculiar, as expected of you!" Flower said happily.
"No one else can enjoy this! Without the right timing, location, and people, it's impossible to be like me!"
Legend jumped up, striking a pose that screamed, "Can anyone else do this?"
"...Are you proud of using your social skills in such a place?" Feather was speechless.
"That's..." Legend was about to say something with a proud expression.
"Alright, alright, it's time to talk business." Flower interrupted Legend.
"Okay, so what's the situation now?"
How did you two get out?
Legend wasn't annoyed by the interruption and asked seriously.
"I don't know, but the most likely possibility is 'Domain' after all."
Flower guessed.
"Yes, after all, for an Uma Musume, all magical things can be linked to 'Domain'."
Feather replied.
"...Could this be the 'Overlimit' that Maruzensky Senior mentioned?"
Legend pondered for a moment, then guessed.
"Probably not." Feather pulled out a pair of glasses from somewhere and put them on. "Maruzensky Senior said that the characteristic of 'Overlimit' is the interference of the domain with reality."
She stretched out her hand, trying to touch the bed, then passed right through it.
"We don't have the right to interfere with reality."
"But it's not entirely unrelated." Feather pushed up her glasses. "Do you remember the conditions for 'Overlimit'?"
"Let me see, I think it was 'Overflowing' and then 'Flowing Out'?" Legend took some time to recall.
"If nothing goes wrong, the reason lies in that 'Overflowing'." Feather nodded, not playing the riddle game. "If I'm not mistaken, we were squeezed out."
"Huh? No way? Wouldn't that make us seem so cheap!" Flower became agitated.
"Is that the point?" Legend retorted. "I think you're overthinking it. Maruzensky Senior already said that 'Overlimit' is a new round of transformation, and the accumulation required is not something we can achieve right now."
This was not a hurdle that could be easily overcome with talent alone.
"We'll know if we do an experiment."
"Huh?"
"Now, look into my eyes." Feather took off her glasses.
Their eyes met.
"I didn't even know your eyes were blue."
Mine are purple, though.
"Now, relax your mind, listen to your breathing and heartbeat..."
[Charming Whisper] activated.
Legend, completely unprepared, fell into a dream under Feather's guidance... The moon hung high like a wolf's fang.
The sound of waves was incessant.
Gold Legend stood on the water, blankly staring at the desolate scenery.
"What the heck? What's going on? What is this situation?"
"No, no, the question at this moment should be: Who am I? Where am I?..."
"And what's for dinner tonight."
[Flower] and [Feather] spoke in unison.
"... Pork cutlet bowl for dinner tonight, next." Gold Legend muttered subconsciously.
[Feather] stood beside Gold Legend, looked left and right, and nodded.
"As expected."
"So, what the hell do you mean?" Gold Legend, having already lost patience, finally couldn't hold back, "Can you PLEASE stop being a riddle-monger?"
"Don't get excited. Don't you often come here to see us?" [Flower] smiled, soothing Gold Legend.
"Huh?... That's not right either." Gold Legend scanned the surroundings once more. "Where's the sea of flowers? Where are the white clouds? Where is that huge full moon of mine?"
"The subconscious realm is inherently strange and constantly changing. Those things were just impressions based on ourselves, merely side products, so don't worry about them." [Feather] explained.
"Then what is the situation now?" Gold Legend was still freaking out.
"Don't know. The subconscious is an entirely unknown realm. I don't even know where the end of the universe is, so how would I know this?" [Feather] rolled her eyes.
"But it's definitely a good thing!" [Flower] clapped her hands. "Listen. The sound of the tide."
"I can hear it, so what?"
"This [World] has come alive."
"?"
"It used to be beautiful here, but it was actually illusory, like flowers in a mirror or the moon in the water. It looked gorgeous, but it was just a stagnant pool."
[Flower] crouched down and tapped the water surface with her finger, creating ripples.
"But now, it has 'come alive'."
"..."
"This is the deepest part of consciousness. The transformation of the heart will be reflected here without reservation." [Feather] said calmly. "This is a good thing."
"A good thing?"
"A good thing." [Feather] nodded. "Alright, it's time for you to go out."
"Eh?"
"Alright! Off you go!"
The last thing Gold Legend heard was [Flower]'s excited voice.
...
"Legend-chan, wake up, your pork cutlet bowl has arrived."
"Hmm?" Gold Legend crawled out of bed, dazed.
"You really sleep soundly." The Police Officer said with a complex expression.
"... It's not the first time, after all. Ah, thank you." Gold Legend rubbed her eyes to express gratitude and took the bowl of pork cutlet.
"You..." The Police Officer stopped himself, finally giving up on preaching. "Just leave the bowl there when you're done, like before."
"Alright."
The Police Officer shook his head and left.
"Thanks for the meal."
After finishing the pork cutlet bowl and tidying up the dishes, Gold Legend sat cross-legged on the bed again.
"It was just making a decision, is it that exaggerated? Or are Uma Musume just that magical?"
Looking up at the ceiling, Gold Legend murmured.
Closing her eyes, in this quiet room, she could clearly hear her own heartbeat and breathing, and that faint sound of the tide.
For some reason, Gold Legend suddenly remembered a Buddhist verse.
"The tide comes in on the Qiantang River; only today do I know who I am."
"Hahahaha!"
Relaxing her body, she lay back on the bed casually.
Gold Legend laughed uncontrollably, her eyes sparkling as if they were shining.
"Only today do I know who I am!"
Who am I?
I am Gold Legend.
Where am I?
Right here.
What do I want to do?
I want to be someone else's hero.
That is all.
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