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Before she was a mage, she was a golem researcher. Before she was a golem researcher, she was a citizen of the Clover Kingdom. Nothing anyone could do or say would ever change that. While she didn't have much faith in her own abilities, that never once caused Verena to simply give up. Instead, she continued down the path that she walked. Not for her own sake, but rather for the sake of future golem work. She had no faith in her ability to fight, but she was quite adept at learning, she personally believed.

And thus-

"I hope you don't mind if I give you a hand, sir," Verena said as she approached the scene.

The farmer had a bewildered expression on his face. "Eh? What's a perty city girl like you doing here?"

The brunette immediately covered her face with her grimoire. "...P-Please don't say that again..." she said, hiding her face. She really didn't like compliments, especially on how she looked. She didn't think she was unattractive, but it was not something she was accustomed to being told after years of how she was treated at the hand of her father.

"A-At any rate... Summoner Creation Magic: Gaia's Blessing."

Stones began stockpling up one after another, being born from the girls mana. They stacked up on one another, broke down, reshaped and reformed. These stone shaped constructs of mana repeated this process over until a large, bipedal creature appeared. It looked more like it was capable of combat rather than anything else, especially given the hammer-like shape of it's head. The rocky prostrutions that stuck out from all over it's arms and back did little to put the farmer at ease. It also dwarfed every human by a substantial amount, being twice as tall as Faust. It seemed as though nothing good could come from something like this. And yet..

Verena carefully made sure to keep it out of Faust's way, while also keeping it away from the pen itself. A massive hand reached inside, as Verena's eyes carefully took notice of where the pig food was at. With a delicate level of control, the girl had the golem grab a spare bucket with the bottom most part of it's fingers as it grabbed the food, before dumping it into the slosh. This seemed to be quite tiring to the newcomer, however. And, for good reason. Trying to keep up this level of control with such a large construct while being able to avoid damaging anything was quite intensive.

Other mages likely would have attempt to train through combat. However, for Verena, this mundane, every day way of life was the perfect training for her. She simply had been passing by when she noticed this, as well as the potential it offered for training. After all, a golem user was only as good as their ability to control their constructs. However, after doing this two more times, Verena's face turned bright red, only just now realizing how out of line she had stepped.

"I'm so sorry!" she said to the farmer, the golem disappating not long after. "I'm very sorry! I just happened to see the farm when I got into Hage, and it seemed like a good way to get some practice in, but I didn't even consider asking you if I should have, or how much, or if he was getting paid... please forgive my selfishness."

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The brunette was so focused on her own strange idea of training that she hadn't even realized, nor considered the possibility that the food might spill over. At her current level, it took just about all of her focus to be able to grab something as small as a bucket with the large golem without damaging it. Due to the nature of her wood golem, trying to pick things up like a bucket would prove difficult. Not impossible, but nonetheless implausible to achieve.

And thus, it was such an incredible shock to her when glanced back to the man in the pigsty, somehow much worse off than when she had helped.

Verena's face immediately turned bright red. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make it worse for you! I'm very sorry!" she said over and over again, despite the rather stoic demeanor Faust carried himself in and his words of gratitude. All Verena could focus on was the fact she still lacked the sufficient control needed, and someone got made the fool a result. All for her selfish desire of wanting to train. Nobody had asked her to show up here. Nobody had asked her to help. She simply did it herself.

The golem had returned from whence it came--that is to say, nothingness, at Verena's unspoken will as she watched the stranger approach the hose. Wait, was he really going to-? Right here? Well, she supposed it wasn't like there was any other way. The stench must have been overbearing. Though she didn't consider herself a noble anymore, this was not exactly the type of thing she aspired to do, either. Anything to have the sensation of being clean, after all, she imagined.

He was surprisingly fit for a mage, Verena noticed. There wasn't much reason to to this hard physical labor in this world. Even ignoring golems, magic in of itself allowed a person to surpass what would be considered humanly possible. Of course, one should always try to take care of themselves, but the build he showed that he simply wasn't trying to keep fat off. Their magic must have been incredibly weak if that was the case. Yet, weak as her sensory abilities were, she could tell that this person was stronger than her. How much? She wasn't sure. But it was enough of a difference that even her sensory could pick up on it.

So then... why did this stranger find himself working in this manner?

Verena was so lost in thought that the simple question tossed her way almost missed it's mark."Huh? Oh... uh, no. As far as elements go, my proper element is carbon. But... I'm more adept with golems than I am with my proper element. I-It'd be easy to call my proper affinity 'Summoner'. I um... I can make golems from many types of elements. I just need to learn how each element works."

She paused. Was that correct? She wasn't sure. The fact she was able to command an Earth and Wood golem, as well as making steady progress on her cloth golem, to her was proof of that. But the world was vast. Maybe she was overestimating herself? Still, it was pretty abnormal that she'd be able to learn those elements when she had a natural affinity for carbon. She wasn't quite sure.

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Was he just saying that to make her feel better? She wasn't sure. The man before her really didn't seem troubled. But what if he was just putting on an act? ...No, there was no reason for him to. Some stranger showing up and making a mess over your clothes? ...Any person who would be upset would have prompt reason to act out on it. So, maybe, just maybe... he was actually meaning what he was saying. She'd put faith in that then.

"I-If you insist..." she said.

"...I don't blame you. For starters, it doesn't even sound like an actual affinity like some others, but it's also not just something anyone gets. Because as you noticed..." She took her grimoire, holding it so the back of the cover was facing Faust, with the four leaves. The clover leaves, however, seemed to be spread out rather than connected like one would traditionally believe. In addition, her cover was very clearly on what would normally be the back of the book. Truly, a bizarre grimoire indeed. The girl's expression dampened as she clung to her book, before putting it back in the specialized pouch that all mages had for their grimoires.

Hope. Love. Loyalty. Luck. One with a four leaf grimoire was supposedly blessed with all of these. For Verena, however, none of this held true. It was the source of her misfortune, her parents betrayal and their lack of love. At most, she had hope, but she couldn't place hope in herself. Her only hope was that she would manage to learn many things about golems, and that that knowledge could be spread throughout the world to better and enrich the lives of many. But that hope was faint.

The girl was still a bit away from the pigsty itself, so the stench itself wasn't as bad for her as it might have been for Faust. Still, it wasn't as if she couldn't smell it, so she simply pinched her nose with her fingers It might not have been the most noble approach to bad smells, but she had been traveling for five years now, and met many different types of people from all walks of life by this point. While this wasn't a life she would personally aspire for, it was a life she'd seen enough by now.

Verena wasn't such a school girl to get embarrassed by someone removing their shirt. It only made her want to ask the question that was on her mind more. What type of magic was this man capable of? He was stronger than her most likely. She was positive of that. He could very easily use magic to make this situation easier. Did he not have sufficient control? Her mind was racing and then-

Oh. She forgot to introduce herself. He'd asked about that a moment ago, right. "I'm uhm... Verena," she simply said. She had no interest in using her family name for introductions, and so she hoped Faust wouldn't pry into that. With introductions taken care of, however.

"...Faust, right? ...Why haven't you used your magic to help with the pigs? What type of magic do you use? I'm pretty sure I can make a golem out of it, even if it's not an element I've yet to learn. As long as you're willing to teach, at least."

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How polite. Was he a noble? No, no noble would ever put themselves to work in these circumstances, no matter the situation at hand. That said, it was equally unlikely that he was born here in Hage. The way he spoke was not that of an uneducated person. He likely was born somewhere in the common region. Nairn, maybe? Possible Kikka. Either way, she was confident he called somewhere in the Common Region home.

Faust didn't seem to have any issue sharing his magic. That was nice. She always loved to know what other types of magic others had, and it always caused her mind to race on the possibility of what type of golem she could make from what element. It always made her mind dance with excitement. Shy and timid as she was, the excitement always became visible in her eyes when she got to thinking like this, eyes twinkling crimson like a star ready to burst. As Faust showed his grimoire and explained his first element, one could practically see the gears that made up her brain spinning on max. But what he said next dramatically changed her demeanor.


Unlike Summoner, Void already was an element that had something of a reputation. That existed in stories. And of course, there was the fact that the previous Wizard King was a known user of that particular element. Something that only someone could hope to access with a powerful grimoire. A four leaf. She hadn't noticed it then, but a proper look revealed the four leaves. Here, right now in Hage, a meeting of two persons blessed by mana was happening. She wondered how often something like this popped up in history.

Verena's hair fell, covering her face as she came to the reality. Those two elements he'd mentioned were incredibly powerful elements. If left unchecked, this one could be calamity incarnate. He probably knew that with how he carried himself. Still... the demonstration of the element was unnecessary. Not that she'd tell someone with Void otherwise. Even still, Faust carried himself with great responsibility. Aware of the limitations of his magic, he simply resorted to doing what an everyday man would do. Perhaps that was the reason for his conditioning then, too. He was not blessed with the means to do ordinary things. His future would only allow for extraordinary things.

...That was what he probably thought, at least.

"...I've been traveling Clover for almost five years now," Verena slowly began to say. "I've met many types of people and heard about all sorts of types of magic. But I don't think I've met someone as self-aware and responsible, yet at the same time wielding the power you do, Faust. It may not mean much coming from someone like me, but I think that's something to hold immense pride in. Furthermore..."

"...That just means your magic was tailor-made for emergency rescues, huh? You can remove debris that traps others, as well as clean up after natural disasters. I won't pretend that the offensive nature of the Spells was lost on me, but... I think it'll be even more beautiful when it's used to save others, just like your grimoire. I don't know if I'll be able to learn that particular element, but out of the four types of elements I'm able to make golems out of right now, none would be able to deal with an emergency rescue as quickly as one as Void would be able to. I don't know if a chance like this will ever pop up again, and so..."

"...would you be willing to teach me, Faust? When you're finished here, of course. I wouldn't want to bother anymore than I have already." Her voice showed a fierce resolve, but not one that came off as overbearing or desperate. She understood how rare a chance this was, and the brunette wanted to take advantage of this chance before it became too late. Even still, even if it would be a bit disheartening, she was also fully prepared to be told no. Void was, after all, an element that was largely associated with being destruction incarnate.