There were a ton of other roles the culinary guild played in society as a whole, but that was a story for another time.

In this world, having a really high mana capacity mattered a lot.

It was the major reason why Jade wasn't paid enough for her effort and hard work while she had been working at a restaurant.

Others with high mana capacity were paid handsomely for the work they did, even if it wasn't up to the level of contribution Jade made.

It was just how society worked.

This was why Jade wanted to know how Zach got so good at cooking.

There was no doubt that he had some kind of book with a bunch of wonderful recipes written in it.

It was the only logical explanation Jade could come up with. The only other reason she could think of as to why Zach suddenly became so good was because he had some kind of teacher but she seriously doubted that.

Anyway, she was determined to not only save her career but also to improve her cooking skills for her family as well, and this was what Zach respected about his older sister.

If there was one thing Zach noticed about his sisters when he had been reading the novel, it was that every one of them placed the family before everyone else, including themselves.

This was exactly what Zach hoped to emulate and he would stop at nothing to ensure his beautiful sisters and Aunt achieved their goals and dreams.

"So what do you say, will you accept the bet or not?" Jade demanded.

"I won't. I told you it was my first time trying that recipe, but it clearly looks like you still do not trust me and I won't do what you are asking for as long as there's no sense of trust between us."

"What? You can't be serious?"

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"I am. Besides, based on the terms of the bet, you are the only one who will be benefiting from it. If you really want to have a contest with me, then I suggest you listen to my terms as well."

A smile bloomed on Jade's face when she heard this. It finally seemed like she was making progress, so she replied. "Okay, what is it?"

"If you win, I will teach you and tell you everything I know, but If I were to win, then you must kiss me. It is as simple as that." He teased, hoping she would disregard the idea of a bet.

Zach was willing to help Jade but he wanted her to trust him willingly. However, he didn't expect his conditions to elicit such a reaction from Jade.

"W-what? K-kiss?" Jade took two steps away from Zach. Her cheeks turned red instantly as she stammered, "Y-you can't be serious."

Seeing this, Zach was speechless. Never had he seen Jade look so cute before.

He decided to play along to see where things would go.

A smile spread on Zach's face as he took two steps forward and the more he got closer, the more Jade moved backwards until her back hit the wall.

Seeing that there was nowhere for her to run to, Zach braced his arms on the wall on either side of her face, as he replied to her question in a relaxed and confident tone. "I have never been more serious in my life. I will fulfil my part of the deal if you win, but if I win, will you do the same?

Jade contemplated the terms of the deal. Before now, she had been approaching her wit's end, since she only had some days left before everything she owned became confiscated by the culinary guild.

However, If she could learn more recipes which would in turn attract more customers, her career would be saved.

"Fine, I will agree to your demands, but the theme of the food will be based on the judges and not what either of us wants," She said, agreeing to Zach's demands and laying down her own terms, completely confident that it would favour her.

"Okay, but where are we going to find the judges?"

A smile appeared on Jade's face as she replied confidently. "Leave that to me."

One might be wondering why Jade was so confident, and this was simply because she intended to make Aurora and Luna the judges.

However, this also meant that she could rig the contest in her favour.

With that out of the way, everyone prepared for the cook-off which would take place in thirty minutes.

Half an hour later, everyone was settled in the kitchen, with Aurora and Luna sitting a few metres away from Zach and Jade.

On the desk in front of the two hungry beast girls were their empty plates. They were both starving and couldn't wait to put something in their stomachs.

Meanwhile, Zach and Jade had a mana stove on the tables before them as well as everything else they would be needing for the cook-off.

The half-hour break they had before commencing the cook-off was used to make sure that everything they needed was ready and so they could also buy any unavailable ingredient from the convenience store which was just a five-minute walk from the mansion.

Noticing that both Zach and Jade were ready to begin, Aurora stood up and began to announce. "As agreed, the theme of the food will be meat. All the equipment and ingredients you will need are currently in front of you. Therefore, let the cook-off begin!"

With the announcement made, Jade gave Aurora a wink, while doing the same to Luna as well.

Both girls subtly reciprocated it to prevent Zach from noticing what was going on.

However, Zach had already noticed their sneaky behaviour.

One might wonder why Jade would resort to such measures, and the answer was quite simple; her career was on the line, and most importantly her first kiss as well.

There was no way she was going to let Zach win the cook-off.

Jade instantly rinsed her pots and turned on the stove. Chicken vegetable soup was the dish that would help her win the bet.

With both Aurora and Luna being beast girls who loved meat, she knew there was no way either of them would say no to a delicious delicacy, that was called chicken.

This was what she promised to make for them provided they both agreed to help her win the cook-off.

Jade had already begun chopping the vegetables when she decided to direct a confident glance at her competition.