Alex felt crestfallen. The phone not only informed him(her?) that his sex had changed but also his race. He couldn't help it, and burst into tears.

  "This isn't right. Sweets should never be wielded as a weapon. That's foul py." Alex mented, holding back tears. "It says I've become a nymph."

  Fufi hovered nearby, saying, "Alex, I apologize. I suspected as much, but now it's confirmed. This is the work of another magical girl's magic."

  "A magical girl did something to the apples?" Alex stammered, sniffing.

  "Yes. I think she is the one who gave Martha the apples or at least connected in some way. When I was searching I never found any orchards or wild apple trees. So that means they either came from outside the area or they are a product of someone's pnt magic. A forest spirit could do the same thing but they don't seek out people. A tree spirit sees time in seasons not days. So if a human wants to get their attention they have to go to the tree in question." The fmingo was cut off by a group of two humans and a slime girl arriving from the direction of the farm house to inspect the exploded outhouse.

  Hearing the ruckus, the rest of the group ran to see what happened. Bob, Martha and Merumeru had a look of shock when they came across the figure of a small nymph wearing the same pink robes Alex was wearing. The clothing looked familiar but not the girl wearing them.

  In a state of bewilderment, Bob gnced around the scene, his forehead creased in a frown. "What in the world? Why is there a girl with pnt-like hair here, cd in Alex's attire?" he questioned.

  "It's me, Alex," a high-pitched voice, unfamiliar to Bob, responded. Alex's words came out in an uneven rhythm. "For some inexplicable reason, consuming all those apples and apple tarts transformed me into a nymph."

  Martha, standing nearby, appeared confused. "But Alex is a boy's name," she remarked, evidently believing that the girl in front of her was an entirely different person.

  Alex, stammering and grimacing, acknowledged, "Alex can also be a girl's name, you know." The nymph pnt's hair appeared to wither slightly in response.

  Bob cleared his throat, "Try to see it from our perspective. A girl appears out of nowhere. Now the outhouse is knocked over and a tree popped out of the trine pit. If this was your farm you'd assume the worst."

  In response to Alex's suggestion of leaving, Fufi cautiously gnced at the apple tree and revealed a startling truth. "Alex, your soul was left behind in the outhouse during the magical transformation process. Nymphs' souls reside in their trees, which means you're bound to your tree and cannot stray too far from it. This was one of the unexpected consequences of the apples' magic."

  Alex gasped in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock. "What? How far is considered too far?" he urgently asked.

  Fufi, uncertain about the exact distance, expined, "I'm not an expert, but it varies. Some nymphs keep their trees within sight, while others allow them to roam anywhere within the same forest."

  Martha, concerned and confused, turned her gaze between Fufi, Bob, and Alex. "Is what Fufi says true? Are you really Alex?" she asked, her voice ced with worry.

  "I am. I promise." Alex wasn't sure himself and the tone showed that.

  In a moment of panic, Bob excimed, "Wait! What about the apples? We all ate some!" Worry etched into his voice, he anxiously ran his hands up and down his body, fearing an unexpected transformation.

  Alex, holding his stomach, admitted, "I think I ate the most. I don't know if that means you all are safe."

  Fufi, interrupted earlier, squawked, "Ahem, let me expin. The magic of the fruit seems to be a fusion of nature spirit and magical girl magic. Magical girls are champions of love and justice. So, I don't believe it can transform someone who can't envision themselves being happy as a girl."

  "That doesn't make any sense. I shouldn't have transformed either then." Alex shook his head, not willing to consider the possibility.

  After confirming that he wasn't transforming, Bob strolled toward the outhouse. Surveying the ruined structure, he sighed and mented, "This outhouse is beyond repair. We'll need to build a new one. It seems destined to become a tree pnter from now on."

  Meanwhile, Martha scolded her husband, "Must we discuss this now? Alex faces more pressing concerns. Fufi, how can we reverse Alex's transformation and restore his human form?"

  "The obvious solution would be to find the magical girl that enchanted the fruit. I want to try to find the other familiar who is around here but I think she is hiding or something happened to her. Usually, a spirit tree transforms someone into a nymph as a reward. The tree will give a quest to prove their loyalty to the forest. If she is taking people and making nymphs who don't consent then I think her pn with Alex is not done yet. Alex is still in danger." Fufi paused and thought for a moment.

  With a hint of fear in his voice, Alex inquired, "Fufi, what would happen if that apple tree were to be cut down?" Now that he had a girl's voice, he realized he had some adjusting to do.

  "Can a soul survive if its body is cut down? I doubt it. We must safeguard the tree until this situation is resolved." Fufi approached to examine it closely. "Alex, does your phone offer any information about the tree?"

  Alex retrieved his phone once more. He nearly dropped it as it appeared rger than he recalled. He was concerned about the low battery. "No, but it does indicate I've acquired new magical abilities: pnt growth and a lesser charm spell." The nymph grimaced at the mention of the tter.

  Fufi nodded in agreement, specuting that the second nymph might have undergone a simir transformation, granting her the same abilities as Alex, which allowed her to persuade Martha to take the apples unquestioningly.

  Meanwhile, Alex's phone was nearing its end, and he yearned for a pce to plug it in. He remembered how conveniently the dungeon could charge his phone back in town and felt a surge of hope. At that moment, as if in response to his thoughts, energy gathered at the tree, and a branch began to grow at head height. However, instead of forming into a normal branch, it took the shape of a cell phone dock, resembling the one Alex had used in the dungeon. The only difference was that this dock was entirely made of wood.

  Despite his doubts about wood's ability to conduct electricity, Alex approached the tree with his oversized clothing dragging on the ground due to his nymph body. He pced his phone in the wooden cradle, and to his astonishment, the phone dispyed a small lightning bolt icon, indicating that it was charging.

  “Um, what was that Fufi?” Alex boggled at the phone in the branch-charger. Apparently, the weird pnt magic distracted the magical girl.

  "Meru?" The slime girl who had been quiet up until now spoke up and pointed at the apple tree.

  "I can't believe that actually worked. I just wished for something and this tree granted it." Alex poked the phone on the branch.

  "It is a good thing you didn't ask for a pony. You might have gotten one, only it would be made from apple lumber." Bob said with a chuckle.

  Martha elbowed Bob and gave him a stern look. He stopped chuckling.

  "I'm not sure I want to know what you mean by apple lumber." Alex shuddered. For some reason the thought of lumber scared him.

  "You're the one who wanted to eat the apples." Martha rolled her eyes. "Though I want to know what that thin brick thing you pced on the tree trunk is though."

  Alex tilted his head, "Oh, it's just my phone. I guess the tree with my soul in it runs on five volts somehow."

  "Five volts? What does that mean?" Martha asked.

  "Volts? Um I'm not an electrician so I don't know if I'm the best person to expin. I think it is like lightning. Only lightning is a whole lot more volts." Alex squirmed, sure that he botched the expnation.

  "I think I understand. The magic of the tree fills your phone artifact?" Bob pointed at the newly created apple tree..

  "I think so. Though I'm pretty sure it's a little more complicated." Alex continued, "I really don't know though. How are we going to find the one who made the apples though? And please don't say I'm going to be used as bait."

  It was a poor pn, using Alex as a decoy. They had to come up with something better. Bob crossed his arms and said, "You're not the first person to disappear in the decades we've lived here. When we had neighbors, I remember hearing strange reports of children vanishing."

  Fufi agreed with Bob. They needed to figure out who was behind this and stop them before anything else happened to Alex. In the meantime, they would protect him. She stood beside him.

  Alex threw up his arms, "I am just going to do what I was pnning to do today before all this happened. If I must py the role of a princess in a tower, then sewing is something I can do. I need something to calm my nerves anyway."

  After the outburst, Alex stormed off. The little apple nymph, once a human, grabbed fabric and began creating a dress, despite being a foot shorter than before. Alex sat down on a stool, gathering thread, needles, and scissors. It took the whole day, but they managed to make a shirtwaist blouse and a pleated skirt for Martha. Luckily, wooden buttons were scattered around to use for the blouse. The outfit was completed without too much difficulty. With no one around, Alex changed into the clothing for scientific purposes. Like the robes, the outfit was rge, expected considering Alex's reduced height and svelte build post-transformation.

  Alex muttered, "One more thing to confirm," before retrieving his phone from the tree. The battery was now fully charged, which was a relief. But the stats were what truly mattered. He examined the screen, which dispyed bonuses of +1 to mental resistance and +1 to cuteness. Additionally, a notification informed him that his [tailoring] skill had leveled up. Alex swiftly made his way back, changing back into his pink robe. He meticulously folded the new clothes into a neat pile, cradled them lovingly against his chest, and then proceeded to the farmhouse.

  [Tailoring: 2]

  As Alex entered the door, Martha hurried towards him, saying, "Alex! Alex! How are you feeling? You spent the entire day alone in the workshop. I know you needed some solitude, but I couldn't help but worry. What do you have there?" She gestured to the bundle of cloth Alex was clutching.

  Alex, with his leaf-green hair, handed Martha a blouse and skirt, saying, "I'm fine. I made you these clothes. If you ever encounter Kaede again, they should protect you from her charm."

  Martha gasped in awe, "Alex, these are stunning. I've never seen anything like them. They look like they belong to a noble. Can they truly protect against charms? I didn't know you could enchant clothing. This is too much for a simple farm girl like me. And who is Kaede?"

  Alex muttered, "I have no experience with enchanting items. Perhaps it's something inherent in being a magical girl. What you ck in knowledge, you can compensate for with good intentions or something. As for Kaede, she's an aspen nymph I met in my dreams. She introduced herself while I was standing watch and wanted me to follow her into the woods in the middle of the night."

  Martha smiled, "What a weird dream. Anyway, let me go get changed. I want to surprise Bob when he gets back."

  melchi