032. New Magic
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Distributing flyers is neither that hard nor that easy.
After all, Lin Nan wasn’t a contracted employee of the supermarket, so whether the flyers would attract customers wasn’t his concern. He didn’t need to spend ages explaining the content of the flyers; all he had to do was hand them out!
But in the scorching summer sun, even wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, standing on the street for an hour or two could make anyone wilt. Yet here was Lin Nan, donning a heavy, unbreathable mascot costume that only heated up in the sun like a mobile sauna.
Great, just great. Portable sauna time!
He stood under a large sunshade at the traffic lights, panting heavily in his costume while handing out flyers.
At first, he tried to say a few words to attract passersby, but after just a few minutes, he realized that talking wasn’t really working and was only making him more tired. So, he clamped his mouth shut and handed the flyers over without asking. Whether they took one or tossed it? Their business.
Probably out of consideration, most pedestrians would accept a flyer, and once they crossed the green light, toss it straight into the trash can on the other side of the street.
The supermarket had rules: if flyers were discarded, they had to be picked up and handed out again. If Lin Nan was only doing this one day, he wouldn’t care about the rules. But since he planned to come each weekend for the next two months, he felt a bit obliged.
“It’s so hot…” Sweat was practically drenching him. The costume likely hadn’t been washed in ages, and there was a faint smell of sweat lingering inside, but he couldn’t afford to worry about that anymore. He was gasping for air, his eyes blinded by sweat, and itching all over where the moisture flowed.
Feeling a bit dizzy, he started to see stars.
“Take off the headpiece and rest for a bit,” a middle-aged helper said from the side.
Lin Nan perked up, looking over at the man who seemed to be in his forties.
“Hey, there’s a stone bench over there. You can sit and take a break.” His accent was a bit strange, not quite local.
The “stone bench” he mentioned was basically a small stone block with a sun umbrella on it—big enough to fit a bum but barely.
“Just a bit more,” Lin Nan grumbled. Was he really giving up after less than an hour? Not to mention he used to be a wild kid playing outdoors in the summer heat without blinking an eye. Back then, he never thought the weather was that tough!
During military training in his freshman year, he stood under the midday sun without any cover. Sure, he got a shade darker, but nothing like this!
This had to be Lilith’s fault!
Lin Nan gritted his teeth. If Lilith were here right now, looking like a delicate little girl, he wouldn’t hold back; he’d throw a punch first and ask questions later.
The helper, keeping an eye on the traffic and glancing at Lin Nan’s slight swaying frame, seemed a bit concerned. “You should rest. Do you want me to help you with the flyers?”
After a moment of silence, Lin Nan’s face broke into a grin, eagerly shoving the flyers into the helper’s hands.
The poor guy looked stunned—wasn’t this supposed to be polite banter? And yet, Lin Nan had handed them over way too quickly!
Ripping off his headpiece, Lin Nan immediately felt the hot summer air become a refreshing breeze. He shook his sweat-soaked hair, inhaled deeply, and felt instantly rejuvenated, as though his body had shed a whole layer of exhaustion.
His cheeks flushed red as he pulled off the top half of the mascot outfit, revealing his drenched shirt. Taking a few steps back, he plopped down on the stone bench.
While gasping for air, Lin Nan tugged at his shirt collar and looked around.
A few pedestrians waiting at the light began to notice him, and the helper kept his promise, stepping up to hand out flyers to those waiting.
Lin Nan had already felt the sweat soaking through his clothes while wearing the costume, but after taking it off, he realized “soaked” was an understatement. He was practically drenched!
Fortunately, his shirt was black, so even soaked, it didn’t look transparent. But let’s be honest, with his top half exposed, the details were more obvious than he’d like.
Worried about getting spotted, he quickly draped the mascot costume over his chest.
Once every passerby had accepted a flyer, the helper came back to Lin Nan’s side, bending down to ask, “Student job?”
“Yeah,” Lin Nan replied.
“High school, right?”
High school? Lin Nan’s mouth twitched. At this point, if he were in his twenties and someone mistook him for a high school student, he’d probably be thrilled. But considering he was merely a fresh adult, he didn’t exactly fit the mold for a high schooler. Then again, most people his age might still be in high school or freshmen in college. So maybe it wasn’t too far off?
“Second year of college,” Lin Nan said, stretching his neck that was getting sore from the mascot costume and thanking the helper, “Thanks! Just give me a couple more minutes.”
The helper crossed his arms, now that the light was green, he didn’t need to watch for pedestrians, but instead, scrutinized Lin Nan and asked, “Your family isn’t doing bad, huh?”
“Just looking to buy a computer,” Lin Nan admitted, feeling no need to hide anything from the nice guy who was helping him out.
The helper didn’t pry too deep, making small talk. “Got a girlfriend yet?”
“Not yet.”
“You’re just too much like a girl. But hey, don’t the girls like this type nowadays?” he chuckled, “My daughter’s room is filled with posters of boys like you.”
Lin Nan figured he was referring to K-pop stars, but honestly, while those guys looked pretty, they still had that different vibe. At least he knew girls didn’t generally like his type.
After chatting a bit more, Lin Nan’s sweat had mostly dried. But with a gust of wind, he felt chilly again. Standing up, he put on the mascot costume, slapped the headpiece back on, and transformed once more into the Kumamon bear.
“Back to distributing flyers!” Lin Nan declared, grabbing flyers from the helper’s hand. Glancing at the thickness, he realized the stack didn’t look any thinner after that hour of hard work.
Looks like he was stuck until 7 or 8 tonight.
Staying until that late was fine; there were plenty of spots in the pedestrian street to sit and rest. His legs would hold up, but with the sun beating down, he wasn’t sure his body could withstand it.
Deciding it was better not to loiter in one spot, otherwise, he’d be out here all day, he ventured out again.
“Hey there! Check out the supermarket specials!” Lin Nan stepped into the sunlight, thrusting flyers at everyone in sight.
Walking while handing out flyers did boost his efficiency, but the sweat poured out even faster, and his energy plummeted.
In less than half an hour, he felt dizzy again. Quickly dodging into the shade, he ripped off the headpiece, contemplating using magic to cheat—because passing out from heatstroke was a real concern.
Hmm, temperature control magic… Originally developed for extreme battlegrounds, now seemed like a perfect fit for a hot day of handing out flyers.
Wait, the unlocking condition was being hugged by a guy for twenty minutes?
That condition… Lin Nan thought about searching for other similar spells, but considering the current circumstances, it didn’t seem that impossible. The trick was the twenty minutes.
