Little Nafi. No, she's not little at all!
In any case, she's become cautious, even knowing how to be suspicious. I thought she'd pounce on me and 'lift me up' like before.
Lex thought with some relief, then smiled, "Due to my negligence, you stayed at the Evil Dragon Bar for a period of time."
"Hmm, not enough." Nafi still hadn't relaxed her guard. "Besides me and the Great Master, the bar owner, and the guy who arm-wrestled me, almost everyone knows about this."
"Is that so?"
Lex had a new idea. "Oh, right, I gave you your Gladiator formula."
"Also, you told me that you came from the other side of the Sea, from a Sea Island no one had ever heard of, and that you were looking for someone."
"By the way, have you found any leads on the person you're looking for?"
After hearing these words, especially the last two sentences, Nafi's eyes began to change.
The girl's eyes softened, then lit up, and finally, with a cheer, she rushed over like a Chariot.
Lex immediately knew it was bad and quickly shouted, "Wait, don't hug—"
Before the word 'me' could even leave his lips, he was already picked up by Nafi and spun around.
"It really is you, Great Master! You haven't been in touch for so long, I've missed you so much."
Thankfully, there was no one else in the room.
Watching his feet dangle more than ten centimeters from the ground, Lex said with a wry smile, "Put me down first."
"Okay."
Nafi immediately let go, and Lex dropped straight to the ground like a nail.
He clenched his fist and cleared his throat, "I've been out at Sea recently, and due to some matters, I've only temporarily returned."
"Are you and Kaven doing well? Haven't gotten into any trouble, have you?"
Saying that, Lex placed the paper bag containing the desi pie on the table. "I bought these on my way here, I hope you'll like them."
Nafi opened the paper bag and exclaimed, "Are these desi pies from Hardy's Pie Shop on Red Moon Street?"
"You know?"
"Yes, I often go there to buy pies. Mr. Hardy is very kind; sometimes when I help him a little, he gives me a bag of pies."
Nafi took one out, her eyes shining, and asked, "Are all these for me, Great Master?"
Lex nodded, "You don't have to eat them all. It's almost dinner time, we'll go out and eat something together later."
"No, I can eat them!"
"This amount is nothing!"
Nafi happily picked up a pie, took a big bite, and then sighed contentedly, "Mr. Hardy's pies are always so delicious, no matter when."
How much do you really love pies? Watching Nafi devour a pie in two or three bites and then pick up a second one, Lex felt like the Miss had been led astray.
While eating the pie, Nafi said, "Kaven and I are doing well. We're both working hard to earn money and also looking for the next stage's potion formula."
"Kaven is going to a Beyonder gathering tonight, the one you introduced. He said he'd ask around at the gathering for me, but it probably won't be that easy, after all, it's a Sequence 7 formula."
"Sequence 7 is already a mid-sequence."
While speaking, Nafi had already finished half the pies. At that speed, Lex felt he couldn't even keep up.
"No need for all that trouble."
Lex said with a faint smile, "Give me a pen and paper."
Nafi paused, then her eyes lit up, and she rushed into a room like a flash. A moment later, she brought back what Lex had asked for.
Lex picked up the pen and quickly wrote down some materials, indicating the quantities.
After he finished, he handed it to Nafi.
Nafi took it, looked at the Beyonder materials listed, and excitedly said, "Great Master, could this, could this be..."
"Yes, the Weapon Master potion formula." Lex finished her sentence, then suddenly his vision darkened, and he was once again lifted by Nafi.
"You are truly too good, Great Master! You are simply omnipotent!"
Although being praised like this was a pleasant thing, especially by a beautiful woman—even if this Miss was a bit on the larger side—considering he was currently being spun in circles in mid-air by this Miss, Lex couldn't feel happy.
After a few spins, Nafi finally put Lex down.
Lex straightened his clothes and said, "I've found the formula for you, but you'll have to collect the materials on it yourself."
"Of course, Great Master, I can't always rely on you." Nafi, having obtained the next stage's potion formula, was in high spirits and quickly devoured the remaining pies.
Lex looked at her and said, "By the way, how are you digesting your current potion?"
"Digesting?" Nafi looked at Lex with a blank expression.
Right, she still didn't understand Acting, so she didn't know about potion digestion.
Lex cleared his throat and said, "It seems you still don't know about 'Acting'. So listen carefully now."
"'Acting' is a method to accelerate the mastery of potions and minimize the risk of losing control."
"Our attitude towards potions should not be to master them, but to digest them."
"The key to digestion is Acting, and the key to Acting is the name of the potion."
Lex explained 'Acting' to Nafi in detail. As is well known, all Beyonder individuals face the risk of losing control. Therefore, upon hearing that 'Acting' could effectively mitigate this risk, Nafi listened very attentively.
The reason Lex was willing to impart such knowledge to Nafi was that he felt the girl was pure-hearted and trusted him enough to become an important partner in the future.
Giving her the formula now and teaching her 'Acting' were both investments.
After finishing his explanation, Lex didn't forget to add, "Remember, 'Acting' is for your knowledge alone; you cannot reveal it to outsiders."
Nafi tentatively asked, "Not even Kaven?"
Lex shook his head, "Don't tell him for now. If I deem it appropriate, I will tell him myself."
"Okay!"
Nafi clenched her fists and said, "I will improve myself as quickly as possible, so I can help the Great Master as soon as possible."
"So, Great Master, when can I finally go on adventures with you?"
Lex chuckled, "Once you become a Weapon Master, it will be about time."
"Really? You won't lie to me, will you? Then it's settled!" The girl, having suddenly found her goal, seemed to have flames burning in her eyes.
As night fell, after Lex had dinner with Nafi, he asked her to inform Kaven. If the Seer didn't manage to buy the formula at the Beyonder gathering, he should come to him.
Not only did Lex have the Magician formula, but the subsequent Faceless Man and Marionettist formulas were also within his grasp.
As long as Kaven could afford the price and was lucky enough, the Seer could at least reach the height of Sequence 5.
After parting ways with Nafi, Lex returned to the hotel, and when he reappeared, he had reverted to his original appearance.
He bought a bouquet of flowers at a flower shop and a box of lemon cake as a gift. He arrived at Daffodil Street No. 2 and pulled the doorbell.
About a minute later, someone opened the door. Illuminated by the warm light from inside the house, Lex saw a young man.
He looked close to thirty, with black hair and brown eyes, very short hair, a receding hairline, and an aged face. He wore a linen shirt and looked at Lex with a puzzled expression, "Sir, who are you looking for?"