– Whoosh!!
“Alright, it’s done, my little rascal.”
“Wowww….”
“Now, spin it around just like Grandpa did earlier.”
“Okay!”
Staring at the burning can with excitement.
This looks fun. I’ve done it once or twice in my past life, but I was too young to remember clearly.
On the other hand, Yuri unni had a joyful expression, as if reminiscing old memories, as she spun the can around excitedly.
“Minho! This is really fun~”
“M-Me too! I wanna try too!”
Seeing Yuri unni spinning the can with a big smile on her face was refreshing.
As I admired the sight, before I knew it, I was spinning the can round and round as well.
– Whoosh!
– Whoosh!!
– Fwoosh!!
“Hehe.”
Every time the fire got closer, it flared up with a bright whoosh!
The faster I spun, the brighter and hotter the flames grew.
“Minho~ Now throw it!”
“Okay!! Grandpa!!”
Grandpa advised me to throw it soon.
I wanted to spin it a bit longer, but there was no harm in listening to an experienced person.
So, I cleanly tossed the can.
“Ooooh…!”
It flew farther than I expected and landed, setting stray hay on fire as it burned.
Watching the flames, I kept murmuring in awe.
It felt like a campfire.
The quiet, slow-spreading fire was mesmerizingly beautiful.
Throwing it far gave me a sense of accomplishment that wasn’t bad at all.
As I was lost in watching the flames—
“…Minho, watch closely. I’ll show you my power…!”
“…?”
Emila unni approached me with a confident expression.
I had sensed movement behind me, and it turned out to be her.
“Unni, did you do something weird?”
“Heh.”
“…???”
She gave me a suspicious smirk.
‘What’s with that smile?’
A strong urge to stop Emila unni from playing with fire surged in me.
But I was already too late.
“Unni, wai—”
“…Here I gooooo!!”
“What.”
– Whoosh!
– Fwooooosh!!!
Emila unni’s can erupted into brilliant flames, burning fiercely.
“What the?! How?!”
“…Hehe, what do you think, Minho?”
“H-How did you do that?!”
With each swing of Emila unni’s can, the flames changed color, driving away the darkness.
From red to yellow, then purple, then green, then blue—
Eventually, the can started glowing with a full rainbow hue.
In the midst of it all, Emila unni smiled in satisfaction as she looked at me.
‘…Amazing…!!’
What an incredible level of skill.
She had the aura of someone who had dedicated decades to studying Jwibulnori (Korean fire spinning).
Her presence alone commanded respect, leaving me utterly speechless.
‘…Is this really my sister…?’
She said she’d show me her true power.
And indeed, she was on a completely different level.
Compared to my second sister, Yuri, who had done an ordinary Jwibulnori, Emila unni stood out significantly.
So this is the power of the eldest sibling…?
“…Woooow… Emila unni, you’re the best….”
As if enchanted, I blurted out those words.
Hearing that, Emila unni grinned widely and spun the can even faster.
– Fwoooosh!!!
A dazzling explosion of colorful flames and sparks burst forth.
This was insane.
No other spectacle could possibly compare to this.
For the first time in my 1(+30) years of life, I had such a thought.
Even though I hadn’t lived long, nothing I’d seen before could match this breathtaking display.
‘…Incredible… Emila Laskaris…!!’
When I finally came to my senses, I realized I had been repeatedly chanting Emila unni’s name in admiration.
…It’s not like I was doing this so she’d teach me her trick.
No, no, it was just my usual respect for her bursting out naturally.
Anyway, as I was practically worshipping Emila unni, Yuri unni, who seemed to be fired up with competitiveness, came running over with a can in hand.
“…Unni! Let’s have a match!”
“Hmph, bring it on.”
Somehow, Yuri unni had found an impressive-looking can as well.
Her face was full of determination, burning with competitive spirit.
Meanwhile, Emila unni, having just tossed her now fuel-less can far away, pulled another one from her coat.
‘…How many of these did she prepare…?’
It looked like she had already done some preparations on this one too, as she didn’t take any time to set it up.
“Minho, you’re the judge.”
“…Okay. The cooler one wins.”
Before I knew it, I had been roped into being the referee for their match.
Since it had come to this, I decided to enjoy the show to the fullest.
And something this amazing couldn’t be appreciated alone.
“…Oh? Where did Mom and Dad go?”
I wanted to call them over to witness this once-in-a-lifetime event,
but both of them seemed to be missing—maybe they had gone to the bathroom?
Feeling a little disappointed, I turned toward Grandma and Grandpa and waved excitedly.
“Grandpa! Grandma! There’s a competition happening here!!”
Bouncing on my feet, I waved frantically.
The two of them chuckled as they strolled over to us.
As Grandpa got closer, I noticed the excitement shining in his eyes.
“Who did that amazing one earlier?!”
“Emila unni did!”
“Ooooh…! That was impressive!”
Grandpa, clearly thrilled, lifted me up in excitement.
Seeing that, Emila unni shyly bowed her head, murmuring a small “Hehe” in gratitude.
Grandpa smiled warmly at her reaction.
“Grandpa, Grandma, you two should vote too!”
“Vote?”
Grandma tilted her head curiously.
I grinned and enthusiastically explained the rules.
“The unnis are going to compete using Jwibulnori! They’ll use all sorts of cool techniques, and there’ll be rainbow flames—woooahhh—and you just vote for the cooler one!”
I got a little too excited and ended up explaining in a way that was hard to follow.
But thankfully, both of them seemed to understand, nodding with amused smiles.
And so, the 1st (and final) Minho’s Awe-Inspired Fire-Spinning Tournament was officially set into motion.
“Ahem, hello everyone!”
Climbing onto a small platform, I held up a wooden stick like a microphone and bowed my head toward Grandma, Grandpa, and the competitors—Emila unni and Yuri unni.
“Now! The 1st and last ever Minho’s Awe-Inspired Fire-Spinning Tournament is about to begiiiiiin!!”
-!!
[The King claps and smiles in delight.]
The event was so grand that even Hwanggeum unni (Golden Sister) had come to watch, summoning a small flame beside me.
‘Hwanggeum unni!’
[The King asks with a bright smile if this is truly the battlefield.]
‘Yes, it is!’
I responded in my mind, then scurried over to Grandma, settling into her embrace.
Grabbing my “microphone” again, I continued the announcement.
“The match will be a single round! Any technique is allowed, as long as it doesn’t harm others.”
“Oh, and dangerous stunts that could get you hurt are forbidden too! If you get hurt, I’ll cry, okay?”
Hearing my warning, the two unnis—who had been completely unfazed until now—gulped nervously.
…Oops, I think I might have put a little too much pressure on them.
“Alright, let’s decide who goes first with rock-paper-scissors!”
Amidst the rising tension, the match finally began.
It started with a simple game of rock-paper-scissors.
“Rock!”
“Paper!”
“Scissors!!”
In sync with my countdown, both sisters extended their hands.
“Yuri went with paper! Emilia went with rock!”
That meant Yuri would go first.
Since both of their cans were already burning and gradually being consumed, the one who started first naturally had the advantage.
It seemed like the match would lean in Yuri’s favor.
Yuri showed off her dazzling hand techniques—
The can passed between her legs, spun in the air three times before falling, only to be caught and spun again.
Using the physical abilities of a hero and a half-dragon, Yuri pulled off incredible tricks that left not only me but also the entire audience (all two of them) in awe.
For a moment, I almost forgot to keep count, but I quickly came to my senses and resumed the countdown.
The time limit for performing tricks was one minute.
[The King declares that he will count the time himself and asks me to notify the contestants 10 seconds before the end.]
Oh, thanks for that.
Just as 10 seconds remained, I announced,
“10 seconds!”
Upon hearing my call, Grandma and Grandpa joined in on the countdown as well.
During those last 10 seconds, Yuri showcased even more amazing techniques.
I made sure to take in every move before finally declaring,
“Time’s up!!”
-Clap clap clap clap-
Grandpa stood up and gave a standing ovation, deeply moved.
Seeing him like that, Grandma burst into laughter.
Of course, I also joined in, giving a standing ovation beside him.
“How can she be this good?!”
[The King marvels at the true essence of spinning fire cans.]
[The GM is so astonished that they cough up blood while applauding.]
[The King scolds the GM, telling them to just go to bed already.]
Yuri’s performance was so impressive that even the gods were left in shock.
Now, the question was—could Emilia surpass this?
With her flashy techniques and the mesmerizing, multicolored flames that flickered due to some unknown trick, Yuri had set the bar high.
Even Emilia seemed nervous, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
“…You’re pretty good, Yuri.”
“Oh, you’re too kind, sister.”
Yuri tossed her fire can behind her with a smirk, a clear sign of provocation.
Seeing this, Emilia, who had initially looked tense, suddenly smiled as if finding the whole situation amusing.
“…But do you really think you can beat me?”
“Me, who spent decades rolling cans in the slums?!”
That was quite a dramatic backstory.
But regardless, Emilia was undeniably experienced.
Now, it was time for her performance to begin.
I have a feeling something is gonna go disastrously wrong…