“Wow, everyone has really outdone themselves. This has got to be the cutest pce I’ve seen on this pnet.” Alex said then whistled.

  “Yeah you all did a great job everyone.” Fufi praised the group.

  Alex walked in and looked into the wishing well. There he found a slime girl making bubbles in the water.

  “Oh hey Merumeru. You did a super job. I’m guessing you made the statues and the water features?” Alex reached down and patted the slime girl’s head.

  “Merumeru!” She nodded in agreement.

  “That’s right, Super!” Alex praised.

  “Meru!” the slime girl answered loudly from where she was floating in the wishing well.

  “Yeah, she came every day at least for a couple hours. She was our mascot.” One of the nymphs praised Merumeru.

  “So, how do we get Miss Ki a css?” Alex looked at Fufi.

  “Well, normally a clergy member would lead the ceremony. This world has a shortage of priests and priestesses of Luna sadly.” Fufi mournfully stated.

  “Isn’t that a catch 22 though? We need a priestess to perform the ceremony but someone gets a priestess css from their css ceremony?” Alex boggled at the concept.

  “Well it isn’t that cut and dry. If all of the clergy died out wouldn’t that mean the end of that religion? Crusaders have done that before but it only works in the short term. There are other ways that gods can communicate and bless people.” Fufi expined.

  “Oh, I think I get it. Like Moses and the burning bush?” Alex asked.

  “What’s that?” A nymph asked.

  Looking at the green-haired woman Alex said, “A story from my world. A hebrew man who didn’t want to admit he was hebrew ran across a burning bush that told him to save his people. He got a quest after that and instructions for what to say.”

  “So he got a css from a burning bush?” The nymph tilted her head.

  “Um, something like that? We don’t really have csses where I come from.” Alex ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair.

  “We won’t be talking to Luna through a burning bush but the principle is the same. We just need someone who has the closest connection to our cute goddess to lead the ceremony.” Fufi expined matter-of-factly.

  “Hmm… that makes sense.” Alex agreed then had a bad feeling. “Wait, you don’t mean.”

  “Of course. We should have a magical girl lead the ceremony.” Fufi procimed cheerfully.

  Alex twitched.

  Everyone looked at Alex.

  There was no escape.

  “I’m not sure about this…” Alex weakly muttered.

  “You don’t want to try to force Sakura to do it? She is only a few weeks old now.” Fufi smugly procimed.

  “No no, I wouldn’t want to try to shirk responsibility on a baby.” Alex didn’t see a way out of this.

  A little worried the ceremony would be right now, Alex stated, “Can we, um, take a day to prepare an outfit for Ki? I think if she had a cute ceremonial outfit it might be better.” This was just an excuse to buy time. Alex should have seen this coming but was caught unawares.

  With the visit to the grotto completed everyone gathered for dinner. The farmhouse was too small for the crown of nymphs and humans that gathered upon the group’s return from town. Unbeknownst to Alex, the nymphs really liked the apple tree that used to house Alex’s soul. They used their growing magic to create a park of sorts. The style mirrored Sakura’s grove. The sapling had grown to twice the size as before. Several charging ports were in the trunk. Apparently, sustainable energy had been introduced by accident to the farm. Just no one had noticed yet. Sadly, the source of energy was also the source of possibly-transformative apples. Did this world even have electricity besides perhaps zapping one another with lightning magic? Also, five volt phone chargers ports on a tree is not much. Maybe there was some use for the charging ports but Alex couldn’t see it.

  The area was filled with living wooden furniture. Against one of the stone and gss walls a rge gazebo with a woven vine roof covered a rge table that looked like an uneven tangle of vines and roots. On either side of the living table were roots that stuck up out of the ground, conveniently sitting height.

  “What do you think? Me and some of my cousins did some decorations while you were out.” Kaide stepped forward and smiled at Alex.

  “It looks really fancy. I can’t believe you all did this in only a couple weeks.” Alex was impressed.

  “Thanks, do you think we could see some of your cooking though? Mom said that she did most of the cooking when you were here but I heard from the rumor vine that you are quite the chef as well.” Kaide asked.

  “Oh sure, I don’t mind though we’d have to get some stuff from the farm to feed everyone. I know I took a whole lot with me just in case but most of it I left at the adventurer’s guild back in town. We really only took enough stuff to get back. Also, I don’t really have a way to keep fresh produce from going bad. “ The bck-green haired human pulled out the card for the carriage and summoned it in a good spot to set it up. The corset-wearing slender man pulled some levers causing gears to turn and cranks to spin. The panels opened up. The carriage transformed into cooking mode.

  Martha walked up carrying a sack of produce. “Welcome back Alex, would you like some help cooking dinner?”

  “Sure, we can chop some stuff up and make some kabobs. I would say we could steam some stuff but there isn’t a sauce pan or steamer. Maybe one of these days I can run across a bcksmith.” Alex chuckled.

  “Kaide told me about those tribesmen you met. Were none of them bcksmiths?” Martha seemed surprised.

  “Surprisingly, no the people who had metalworking skills were all maintaining what they already had. I asked if anyone had made a bloomery before and they did not know what I was talking about. All one needs is bricks, charcoal and iron sand. It is sad to see humanity reduced to such a state. Even you and Bob still make charcoal.” Alex cut up some veggies and pced them on a skewer.

  Martha got some charcoal and pced it on the grill. After lighting it, she put the skewers on and started heating them. “I think there are a bunch of old wooden forms for bricks around here somewhere. If you are going back to town you could take some with you. Bob has some decent woodworking skills; he could cut some molds if they are not good enough.”

  Kaide chimed in, apparently she was eavesdropping. “There are a bunch of nymphs here with pnt magic too. If you need some pieces of wood in a certain shape it would be our pleasure to help out.”

  “Oh, that would be a big help. They just need to be slightly angled so that they can make a cylinder when stacked together.” Alex took a stick and scratched some shapes in the ground. “You know how this works right?”

  Kaide nodded. “Yes, the cy goes in the mold and then it makes a brick shaped piece of cy.”

  Alex nodded back at the nymph then spoke to Ki. “Ki, do you still want to ask Luna for a css?”

  Ki stepped forward and smiled. “Yes, I’d like to ask Luna for a noble css.”

  Alex whistled. “You sure aim high. I said that I’d make you an outfit. What were you thinking?”

  “I’d like a dress. Whatever kind of dress is suitable for the occasion.” Ki answered.

  “Maybe Fufi can help with that. I’ve only spent a little bit of time in Luna’s realm and the circumstances were a bit distracting.” Alex looked at the fmingo.

  The pink bird raised her beak. “There isn’t really a right or wrong way to dress in a ceremony for Luna. She likes people to be creative in how they dress. Sometimes groups will dress in matching outfits but there isn’t really anything traditional.”

  Alex really missed the rge kitchen and the group of tribe women who were fastly learning how to operate it. Cooking on a small grill took a lot longer. It couldn’t be helped though. Martha’s kitchen was also small. No one compined about how long it took to cook. Everyone was happy to chat with each other about hopes for the future.

  With the anticipation for Ki’s css ceremony Alex really felt the pressure.

  The sun had already gone down when everyone headed off to bed. The nymphs returned to the forest except Kaide who stayed in the farmhouse with her parents. Alex and Fufi slept in the carriage. The walled area had chickens guarding the walls after all.

  After settling down to go to sleep Alex was left alone with his thoughts. He thought about the time he spent as a nymph. Should it be her time as a nymph? Pronouns are weird. Would it be right to call nymph Alex a she? There were some advantages to being a nymph. Losing the cuteness along with the race was a bit of a minus. Alex wanted every advantage against the demon queen. If turning into a girl could make the difference between victory and defeat….

  Alex’s thoughts were muddled until sleep came.

  The next day everyone had breakfast at Bob and Martha’s farmhouse. It was familiar in a nice way. They shared a hearty breakfast together.

  Alex announced that he’d spend the day working on a dress for Ki and requested use of the workshop.

  Bob and Martha had no problem with that. Kaide also didn’t mind though she wanted to see the finished product.

  Alex deployed the carriage in the workshop and pulled out the sewing supplies. Wearing the corset, skirt and blouse helped with crafting. So he dressed in that and started cutting bolts of cloth, sewing fabric, and adding cuteness wherever possible. The dress had a two tone theme. It was mostly white with pastel green accents. Alex even knitted some leafs to add at the bottom of the skirt. It was slightly inspired by Sakura’s outfit. Alex couldn’t help but be influenced by the fabulous dress the other magical girl wore. He couldn’t create living outfits but suspected the bonuses it gave the Dryad magical girl were incredibly high.

  After finishing his phone rang out:

  [Tailoring has reached level 3]

  Checking the status page it read:

  Name: Alex Parker

  Css: Magical Girl

  Sex: Male

  Race: Human

  Strength: 10

  Constitution: 10

  Dexterity: 16

  Intelligence: 7

  Cuteness: 6

  Skills:

  Cleaning: 2

  Cooking: 1

  Dancing: 1

  Tailoring: 3

  Toymaking: 1

  Feats: Empower Doll

  Spells: Animate Doll

  Lesser Grow Pnts

  Cooking, dancing and toy making gged behind other skills. Alex wondered what kind of bonuses this dress would give but it was Ki’s dress. He could try it on and figure it out but that wasn’t nice. He decided to ask Ki and she could tell him if she wanted to.

  Alex found Kaide working the fields. She used her nymph powers to locate Ki.

  The nymph and human met at the entrance to the grotto. The pn was to conduct the ceremony in the evening so they had a few hours to get ready.

  “Here you go Ki, I made you this dress.” Alex handed the dress over to Ki.

  Ki’s eyes sparkled when she saw the dress. “Wow Alex, this is really cute. You’ve outdone yourself. I can’t wait to try it out.”

  And wait she didn’t. Ki slipped her shoulder straps off and her woodnd dress fell to her feet.

  “Um wait, shouldn’t you do that somewhere else?!” Alex covered his eyes. His voice was high pitched with surprise.

  “Ha, it is just us girls here.” Ki chuckled.

  Alex knew she was teasing. Hearing Fufi also chuckle confirmed this. “Very funny, are you decent now?”

  “Yes” Ki confirmed.

  Alex risked a peek.

  Ki looked really cute in the ceremonial dress. Her fair skin and green hair really complemented the outfit. Her natural svelte silhouette and bare feet completed the fey look.

  “So, I wanted to ask. Can you tell what bonuses the outfit gives?” Alex asked the question that had been eating at him.

  Ki’s eyes lost their focus for a moment. She stared into space then blinked, her gazing returning to Alex. “It looks like it gives +1 to cuteness and +1 to leadership.”

  After spending some time getting things pnned out and doing a little rehearsal the time for the ceremony arrived. A small crowd sat in the grotto with Ki, Alex and Fufi before the altar. The crowd consisted of Bob, Martha, Kaide and a bunch of nymphs.

  “Um… dies and gentlemen we are gathered here today…” Alex realized the mistake. Bob was the only male in the crowd.

  “Sorry, I mean dies and gentleman.” Alex stammered.

  Fufi and Ki snickered.

  “You are doing great, keep going Alex.” Fufi encouraged.

  Alex cleared his throat, coughing cutely. “...gathered here today to witness Ki and Luna’s bond through a new css. Ki, please step forward and offer your supplication.”

  Ki stepped forward and knelt down. “I promise to cherish all things cute, to honor and sustain your values. In sickness and health, I will be true to the principles of Luna in exchange for a css until death do us part.”

  Alex pulled out his phone and sent a text to Luna, asking her what she thought. Luna’s instructions were not to call her unless he wanted to become a she so hopefully this didn’t count as a call.

  Luna texted back with a winky face.

  Spectral fmingos appeared out of nowhere and danced a conga line in a Ki. It was a little silly.

  After the fmboyant performance of the birds, Ki stood up.

  “My new css is Baroness of Beauty!” The green-haired nymph procimed.