Leon Greyrat: The Second Son - Mushoku Tensei OC

Chapter 38 - Departing the Great Forest

— Leon Greyrat —

Splashing my face, I let the water drip down my chin as I looked down at the clear river water, showing the reflection of someone I was quite familiar with.

Me.

It hadn't really occurred to me, as survival was my top priority for my journey through the Demon Continent, but as time passed, my physical appearance changed quite a bit.

Most notably, there were now a few whiskers of facial hair beginning to grow on my usually clear face. This introduction of body hair had also made its way across much of my body, including around my 'little man', as Paul would call it.

This along with a deepening voice and the weird feelings I kept getting around Eris, there was no mistaking it.

I was in the golden age of puberty.

Well, considering I was nearing fourteen years old at this point, it was only natural. In fact, I would be quite concerned if I hadn't had any changes.

Anyway, aside from the more obvious signs of growth, my facial features had also begun to change and, to my utter dismay, I was still growing up to look like Paul.

And how the Water God said I looked like him as a kid...

Was he actually my father?

I... wouldn't know how to feel about that.

On one hand, that meant he left Alice, which would put a disgusting taste in my mouth, but on the other, it would feel nice to have a blood relation to my family...

It could also just be that I have the genes of the Notos Greyrat line, or perhaps many Asuran men in general had Paul's traits.

Anyway, while I was beginning to look more and more like that man, I was pleased with the fact that I wasn't an exact copy.

Rather, I was... softer.

Rounder cheeks, a smaller nose, smaller ears... that kind of thing.

They were all features my dear biological mother, Alice, had, so I was content to keep them throughout adulthood.

So, overall, I was gaining some of Paul's handsome features while keeping some of my youthful ones.

"Not bad... but I don't think it's time to grow out a beard just yet," I murmured to myself before coating my face in wind magic, cutting off all the whiskers.

Ah, and now that I look at myself, my hair needs a trim too.

Luckily, my hair was naturally choppy and rugged, so cutting it myself wouldn't look out of place.

And, gathering my hair in a fist and raising a knife, I did just that, cutting it so that the length would stop just above my shoulders.

"There... that's better."

But I didn't come here to the river to look at myself and cut my hair, rather, it was to wash myself off after a long day of training.

Unfortunately, there was no soap here in the Great Forest, but instead, there was a collection of herbs that made you smell good, so I was able to make do.

Washing down my arms, I let my fingers trace a few scars that I had found myself keeping after our group's adventure for the past year.

Most of them were from the first week after we were teleported, a time when I was not only quite the reckless idiot with my fights, but my healing was also sloppy due to tiredness and stress.

Of course, I also had a bunch of smaller ones, but those were mostly from cuts I didn't notice, like scratches from bushes and equipment.

Ah, well... I just hope my future wife. Or rather, wives, hopefully, won't mind.