Milica

When the restaurant was not busy anymore he went inside to eat something. He sat on the table that he and Nancy always used and he helped himself to the trending dish. This was his first time actually tasting the food in this world and it was so delicious. No wonder this restaurant was so famous. He found himself actually smiling and madam Brynhilda noticed. The restaurant was not as busy anymore so she came to join him.

"Did you find the person you were looking for?" she asked.

"Nancy. No, no luck just yet," Ben said.

"Where are you from?"

Ben had not thought of an appropriate answer. Could he tell her that he was from another world and that he was actually the creator of this world? She would think he was crazy. Ben was laughing at such a scenario inside himself and his face was showing.

"You are making fun of me for asking aren't you?" madam Brynhilda said, "I was just asking out of courtesy. You are from the kingdom of Rotonis aren't you?"

"That I am."

"What brings you to the Onis kingdom?"

"I came to meet someone."

"Nancy."

"Yes, Nancy. We were supposed to meet here."

"In this city?"

"Yes, in this restaurant. It's her favorite."

"What do you know, a loyal patron?"

"I am out of ideas," Ben confessed, "If she does not show up here I wouldn't know what else to do."

Madam Brynhilda thought a little and she came up with an idea.

"What does she do? I mean what's her occupation?"

Ben suddenly lit up. She was onto something. What occupation could he have given her? Truthfully speaking he had not given her anything in that regard. She was never in any need for money since he provided her with everything. But if nobody knew who he was could it also be possible that Nancy did not know him either? If he had never been in her life in this particular instance of Xeronis then she had lived a normal natural life like everyone here and that meant she had an occupation and was busy making a living just like everyone else.

Was she a commoner, a noble, or she was perhaps royalty?

Ideally he would have made her a royal. He could visit the palace in the capital and check. The capital was a week's ride from here by horse.

"I never asked her about it," he replied.

"The reason it would be hard to meet her is you not knowing such important information."

"I think I might actually need to visit the capital," Ben said.

"Why all of a sudden?"

"I think she might actually be there. No, she is definitely there. How disappointing. I was so excited by the prospect of us meeting that I forgot important details."

"My cousin is setting off for the capital tomorrow. Perhaps he can give you a ride?"

"Who is your cousin?"

Before she could answer a flood of information rushed into Ben's mind and he began to experience this new information as if he was remembering an event he had forgotten.

Madam Brynhilda's cousin was a merchant named Denzel who had made a name for himself in the sensitive packages delivery industry. He would take on requests to transport special packages and goods between cities. Sometimes he would get packages so sensitive that even the contracts were kept secret. Business came from wealthy clients and he had never failed in his deliveries. It was a dangerous occupation because the roads in between cities were fraught with bandits, unforeseen accidents and attacks from wild animals. Yet Denzel had an uncanny instinct and had managed to avoid bandits who lay traps for him looking to rob and loot him.

It was not an instinct at all. Denzel's daughter, Milica, whom he took on all his important jobs, had the gift of foresight. She was only sixteen years old and yet she had mastered a magical ability where she could see events as they will unfold two days into the future and she could change whatever she desired by engaging in a series of small carefully chosen actions or choices. It was not just foresight; it was also wisdom to know exactly what to do to achieve a desired result. Her gift updated her in real time of the effects of any changes she made no matter how small.

Just last year Denzel had a job that sent a group of dangerous bandits setting up an ambush for him. Milica knew exactly the weapons they were going to use and from which shop they had acquired them, what number of horses they had and from which trough they drank from, and she knew exactly who had told them of Denzel's contract and what goods he was delivering. Using this information Denzel managed to thwart the bandits by simply pouring a mixture of portion that made the horses sick for a week.

Milica had brought fortune to her father and so he didn't have qualms about satisfying her large curiosity no matter how ridiculous or expensive it got.

A side effect of her power was that she had to be constantly learning new things and no room was left for ignorance. She demanded that he buy her books, requested tutelage from master artisans and craftsmen, and spent entire summers cooped up in libraries. Milica was known as the eccentric of the eccentrics.

There were two major limits to her gift. She didn't know what she didn't know. If a person was going to be poisoned in two days' time and she didn't know anything about poisons then her guiding power ended there. No new information was going to be given to her until she learnt all she could about poisons. The more she knew about a subject the clearer her gift could guide her.

The other limitation was that once she locked in an event in the future she could not lock in a new one until her two days had expired. Her two days were her limit and if she were to go against someone who could see three or more days ahead then she would be at a disadvantage.

Which is what was happening now.

Denzel had landed an interesting contract. A merchant had come to him in secret with a dragon egg. Dragon eggs were very rare and very valuable. It was no easy task stealing or wresting a dragon egg from its mother. Dragons were magical creatures so their eggs cooked up interesting portions and spells that sorcerers were dying to acquire. This particular dragon egg however was under the protection of the crown. If Ben wanted to meet Nancy then he was going to have to stick to the egg.

Within the space of a second Ben knew everything he needed to know about Denzel and his business before Madam Brynhilda had finished pronouncing his name to him.

When the sun was setting madam Brynhilda had to close her restaurant so she asked him if he had lodgings elsewhere. Since he obviously had not she invited him to come with her to her house for she had an empty guest room. He could not refuse her kind offer. Since it was already late at night when they arrived at her residence, introductions to Denzel were kept brief.

Ben did not know whether he was going to be able to fall asleep. He was in Nancy's realm after all. He remembered those nights on the physical when he struggled with sleep because of his longing for her.

It was so hard being separated from Nancy by a dimension. It was difficult and sometimes painful. He would stay awake with a burning longing in the depths of his belly that tore at his heart. He longed for her so much. He wanted so much to see her and so much to touch even just a whisk of her hair. But she had never materialized no matter how hard he wished her to. He simply did not have that kind of power that caused physical realm objects to appear from the thinnest air, even so how could an entire human being appear?