Only when Tsugikuni Yoriichi raised a hand to touch his own face did he finally realize why the old peddler had taken him for a youngster.
The delicate, smooth feeling made Tsugikuni Yoriichi pause in surprise. He stretched out his arms, lowered his head, and examined himself closely before a look of understanding appeared in his eyes.
Setting aside his height, Tsugikuni Yoriichi's skin was practically that of a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old in the prime of adolescence. His face was so full of youthful collagen that even his crude beast-hide coat could not conceal it.
In the old peddler's eyes, the clean-shaven Tsugikuni Yoriichi was completely and utterly a child who had not yet fully grown up.
With his body remade, Tsugikuni Yoriichi's age had become even harder to determine.
Though his skin had originally been fairly pale, years of training had left Tsugikuni Yoriichi's hands covered in thick calluses. As he aged, pigmentation had inevitably appeared on his skin, and the mature, weathered aura he gave off had become difficult to hide.
But Tsugikuni Yoriichi was different now. The temperament emanating from within him had been completely concealed by his youthful face. Unless one was a shrewd elder well versed in the ways of the world, it would be impossible to detect the air he carried within.
It was only natural that people would underestimate him.
"Thank you, sir."
"I'm not buying alcohol for myself."
Having figured it out, Tsugikuni Yoriichi smiled and casually brushed off the old peddler before him. He could more or less sense the man's goodwill. Since entering this world, it was the first time Yoriichi had encountered someone so simple and unpretentious.
Not wanting to explain too much, Yoriichi simply found an excuse to brush the matter aside.
Sure enough, upon hearing that, the