Chapter 25: Ch25 Adjusting

Alex was crestfallen.  His phone not only informed him that his sex had changed but also his race. He couldn't help it, he burst into tears.

"Alex, calm down. We will find a way to fix it." Fufi said, flying around Alex and trying to comfort him.

"No, no, no. This isn't fair. Sweets should never be used as a weapon.  That is playing dirty." Alex wailed while tears welled up in his eyes.

Fufi hovered around him, "I'm sorry Alex. I had my suspicions but now I know for sure.  This is the magic of another magical girl."

"Are you saying the magical girl did something to the apples?" Alex stammered, sniffling.

"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 plant 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." She was cut off by a group of two humans and a slime girl arriving from the direction of the farm house.

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.

"What in the world?  Why is there a girl with plant hair here wearing Alex's clothes?" Bob asked, looking around and frowning at the scene.

"I'm Alex. I'm sorry I kept it a secret but my class is magical girl.  For some reason eating all those apples and apple tarts turned me into a nymph," Alex said with a sad tone.

"But Alex is a boy's name." Martha said, confused. She apparently thought the girl before her was a different person.

"Alex can be a girl's name as well." Alex said, grimacing.  The nymph plant hair seemed to wilt a little.

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 latrine pit. If this was your farm you'd assume the worst."

"I guess I can see why you would think that.  If you want us to go we will." Alex said, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his robe.

"Um, about that. . ." Fufi said uncertainty while looking at the tree. "Alex, your soul left you in the outhouse.  A nymph's soul is in their tree. So you can't actually go too far away from it. When the magic of the apples transformed you that was one of the side effects."

"Is what Fufi says true?  Are you really Alex?" Martha said, concerned.  Her gaze shifted between Fufi, Bob and Alex.

"I am. I promise." Alex said and looked down. He was speaking with a whisper as if he wasn't sure himself.

"Wait! What about the apples?  We all ate some.  This is the first time I've heard of someone getting transformed into a nymph." Bob shouted, a worried tone in his voice.

"I think I ate the most. I don't know if that means you all are safe." Alex said and held his stomach.

Fufi squacked, "Ahem, before I was interrupted I was trying to explain things. I'm not sure but the magic of the fruit looks like a combination of nature spirit and magical girl magic.  The purpose of magical girls is to be champions of love and justice. So, I don't think it can actually transform someone who couldn't see themselves happy as a girl."

"That doesn't make any sense. I shouldn't have transformed either then." Alex said and shook his head.

"Well, I hope you are right." Bob said and walked towards the outhouse. Looking over the destroyed building he sighed and added, "But this outhouse is a complete loss.  We'll need another one."

Martha scolded her husband, "Do we really have to talk about that now? Alex has bigger problems. Fufi, how can we change Alex back into a human?"

"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 plan with Alex is not done yet.  Alex is still in danger." Fufi paused and thought for a moment.

"Fufi, what happens if that apple tree gets cut down?  Will I turn back?" Alex asked. He was a bit scared of the answer. Also the fact that he now had a girl's voice surprised him. It was going to take some getting used to.

"Can a body survive with a soul that is cut down? I don't think so. We have to protect it until this gets fixed." Fufi said and moved to inspect the tree. "Alex, does your phone say anything about the tree?"

Alex pulled out his phone again.  He almost dropped it because it seemed bigger than he remembered.  The low battery made him nervous. "No, though it does say I have new magics: grow plants and lesser charm person." The nymph cringed at the last one.  

Fufi nodded, "Maybe that second one was how the other nymph was able to get Martha to take the apples without question. She could have been transformed the same way you did and has the same powers."

You are reading story Magical Girl? I’m not sure about this. at novel35.com

"You don't think the Nymph is a magical girl?  Also, my phone is so close to dying.  I really wish there was a place to plug it in.  The fact that the dungeon could charge it back in town was a god save," at those words, Alex felt power gather at the tree.  At head-height a branch started to grow but instead of forming into a normal branch it took the shape similar to the cell phone dock that he had placed his phone in at the dungeon.  The main difference was that it was entirely made of wood. Alex got up and stumbled  over to the tree.  The nymph body he now had caused too-big clothing to drag on the ground.  Thinking that there was no way wood could conduct electricity, Alex placed the phone in the cradle.  Much to his surprise, the phone showed a little lightning bolt icon indicating that it was charging.

"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 said and looked around.

"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.

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

"You're the one who wanted to eat the apples." Martha said and rolled her eyes. "Though I want to know what that thin brick thing you placed 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 explain. I think it is like lightning. Only lightning is a whole lot more volts." Alex said and shrugged, sure that he botched the explanation.

"I think I understand. So, the magic of the tree fills your phone artifact?" Bob asked.

"I think so. That is probably the easiest way to explain it. Though I'm pretty sure it's a little more complicated. I'm guessing the energy is drawn from the earth or the sun." Alex said and 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."

"Using Alex for bait is a bad idea. I think you are the prize. We need to come up with a better plan." Bob said and crossed his arms.

"I agree with Bob. Alex is a special case. We need to figure out who is behind this and stop them before they do anything else to Alex. But for now let's just protect Alex." Fufi said and stood next to Alex.

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

With that final outburst, Alex stormed off to the cart.  Taking the sewing supplies, the little apple nymph that used to be a human grabbed some bolts of cloth and started creating a dress. Being a foot shorter made things difficult at first.  However, Alex sat down on a stool next to a workbench with some thread, needles and scissors.  It took the whole day but he was able to make a shirtwaist blouse and a pleated skirt for Martha.  Luckily there were some wooden buttons strewn about that Alex could use for the blouse. The outfit was finished without too much difficulty. No one was around so Alex changed into the clothing . . . for science purposes.  Like the robes, the outfit was big but that was to be expected.  Alex was around a foot shorter after the transformation and now sported a very svelte build.

"Hmm one more thing to check." Alex muttered, then fetched the phone from the tree.  The charge was now at 100% which was nice.  However, the important thing was the stats.  Looking at the screen, it showed a bonus of +1 to mental resistance and +1 to cuteness.  Also, there was a notification that [tailoring] leveled up.  Sneakily heading back, Alex changed back into the pink robe.  He folded the new clothes in a neat pile and lovingly held them to his chest before going to the farmhouse.

"Alex! Alex!" Martha called as she came running to the door. "How are you feeling?  You spent the whole day alone in the workshop.  I know you probably needed some time alone but I was worried.  What is that you have there?" She gestured to the bundle of cloth Alex was clutching.

"I'm fine. I made you some clothes. If you run across Kaede again they should protect you from being charmed." He said and handed the blouse and skirt to her.

Martha gasped, "Alex, these are beautiful. I've never seen anyone sew anything like this. It looks like something a noble would wear. It can protect against charms you say?  I didn't know you could enchant clothing.  It is too much for a farm girl like me. Also, who is Kaede?"

Alex muttered, "I don't have any experience with enchanting items. Maybe it is something about being a magical girl.  What you don't have in knowledge you can make up for with good intentions or something. As for Kaede, that was the name of the aspen nymph I met in my dreams.  I was standing watch and she introduced herself and wanted me to follow her into the woods in the middle of the night."

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

Possibly Martha above.

This could be Kaede offering Martha apples.

You can find story with these keywords: Magical Girl? I’m not sure about this., Read Magical Girl? I’m not sure about this., Magical Girl? I’m not sure about this. novel, Magical Girl? I’m not sure about this. book, Magical Girl? I’m not sure about this. story, Magical Girl? I’m not sure about this. full, Magical Girl? I’m not sure about this. Latest Chapter