The Insider System

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The show had ended soon after the giants flew up to the clouds, but not before a few small things had come out of the Demon Lord's cloud. Sadly, all were too small for him to see what the things were, but having decided to mind his own business, he didn't worry about it.

"Did you stop my servant from getting food, or are they just slow?" Now that the clouds had left the sky, he remembered he was still hungry, and the absence of his food was starting to make him think he needed to look for his servant. "I didn't stop them. They probably got stuck around the elevator with everyone moving around the guild. They could have also gone back to get food again if it cooled off before they got it here. I've heard people under the effects of the loyalty curse getting stuck in work loops like that when something gets in their way since it forces them to do a good job."

Lake hadn't known that, but he could see the servant trying to get food to him through the crowded halls before it cooled down impossible for them, so he stood while saying. "I'm going to go looking for them. I'll be back soon if you want to stick around so we can talk more."

They still had things to talk about, so asking her to stick around for a little while to wait for him wasn't crazy. "Just send one of the others to get them out of it. If you come over, I'll make you something to eat in my room. I was going to make myself something before bed anyway."

Liking her plan better, Lake sent his fastest servant to look for the other one and followed Millie to her room. He knew from experience that the stuff she made was better than the stuff in the cafeteria, so this was a good chance for him to have the best of the best again after all this time.

"What do you want?" Knowing he wouldn't be able to eat a lot without throwing up most of it, he decided to make it easy on her and said. "Just make a small bit more of what you're having. I can't eat much anymore because of a skill I have. It takes me days to eat a single loaf of bread."

Millie wasn't the type to worry about, so he had no problem mentioning his problem, even if it hinted at how high his stats were, especially since he might have already told her in the past. "That's miserable. What happens if you overeat?"

This was a good question since he didn't think it would hurt him, but eating when you felt full usually ended with regret. "I feel sick. I don't think I would mind too much if it was made by you, though." He had eaten more than he needed plenty of times back when he had been coming here for lunch every day, and it had never bothered him.

"If you'd like, I could try to find a way to make the food bypass that sinking feeling for you." Lake thought that sounded like something dangerous, so even though it made him slightly annoyed to say no to an offer like this, he shook his head before explaining his reason when Millie gave him a surprised look. "It sounds dangerous, and eating more than I need would probably make me gain weight."

Lake wouldn't mind being big if it meant he could eat Millie's food as much as other people, but the fact he had to dodge attacks sometimes meant being large was a bad idea. "It's probably for the best. I don't really have time to work on new stuff right now anyway."

After a while, Millie came out of the kitchen in her room with a plate of what looked like mashed potatoes, and Lake got excited and stayed excited even after he realized what he was eating wasn't potatoes just looked and tasted similar. "What is this?" He had already taken the first bite, and since he only got one more before he was full, decided to slow himself down by talking about the food.

"I'm still working on using milk and the fat that's in it to make creamy textured things. This is just smushed vegetables with milk and a few spices." Lake saw now why he'd been unable to figure out what he was eating. It was because it was a mixture of multiple things mushed together. "Did you change the color to white, or is it like that naturally?"

"It's like that. I don't think I'll go so deep as to change the color of my food to make it look better unless I find an ingredient that really needs it to be appetizing." Taking his spoon to get his second and final bite, Lake paused it in front of his mouth so that he could ask another question for Millie to answer while he savored his last food for the day.

"Have you talked to Lucas about Nia yet?" Lake knew this was a heavy question, but he still wanted to know how Millie was doing and if she actually cared that there was a good chance Nia was dead. "I haven't asked him yet. I don't think I'll like what he tells me if I do, so I've been putting it off, hoping she comes back before I have to deal with it."

He could understand this, and right as he swallowed his food, he realized he could probably use Detector to figure out if Nia was still alive. So, taking out an arrow. "Would you like me to see for you?" He could tell she was confused by what he had just said, so he added, "I have a skill that can find people. Remember how I told you I helped the Temple find their kidnapped member? This was how I did it."

"And you'll be able to tell if she's alive?" Lake nodded and then waited for Millie to make up her mind in silence. "Can you find anyone if you have their name?" Lake had been about to nod again but decided to give a more nuanced answer so she didn't ask for anything crazy from him in the future.

"It doesn't work if they have skills that keep them from being tracked. I've had problems multiple times because of other people's skills." He could tell whatever Millie was about to ask him about hadn't been changed by what he had just said even before she asked. "Could you see if my cousin is alive? We were separated when I was little, and I've never seen her again."

"Are you sure?" Lake really didn't want to sit here and tell Millie every person she wanted to see again was dead, so he wanted her to think this over before he would do it. "Yes, I'm sure. Not knowing if they're alright has always bothered me." Deciding to do it if that's what Millie wanted, Lake started the arrow spinning while asking. "What's their name?" f(r)eenovelkiss.com

"I only know their nickname. Will that be alright?" Lake nodded because he could probably find them without a name at all if he set it to look for Millie's Cousin. "Alright, they were called Milla." As he set Detector to look for an arrow pointing at Millie's cousin called Milla, Lake asked. "Why is her nickname so close to your name?"

"We looked similar enough to be twins. Someone made a joke." Lake guessed that was how most nicknames happened, so he stopped talking to Millie and looked at the arrow to see if it ever lit up. When it never started to glow, even after a few seconds, he knew it was a bad sign, but he made sure to let it go for a bit longer before he said anything.

When it had been around a full minute with nothing, Lake was about to tell her the bad news when he stopped himself again to ask. "Do you know if we're inside a barrier or something like that while inside the spire?" Detector was a strong skill, but he felt the guild might have the capabilities to stop it if their barrier was good enough. However, it hadn't in the past, so he was really just trying to get out of telling Millie her cousin was dead.

"Yeah I think so. Do you feel like you're being blocked by something?" Lake had a feeling, so he nodded and said. "I'll try again tomorrow when I leave the guild. Would you be ok with waiting?" Millie nodded to his question and finished the food she had snuck into her mouth as he was talking before saying. "That's fine. What are you going out for tomorrow?"

He didn't think Lucas would mind if he told her that they were going to look for more of Amanda's journals, but he decided he would let it stay a secret for now. "I'll be finding some new equipment. I don't know if you're aware of this, but it's really hard to find stuff of an appropriate level when you get to a certain level of strength and it takes a lot of time and effort."