The commission paper was encrusted with a golden crown, representing the king himself.
"Satisfy my youngest daughter Gwen with any dish, and she shall be yours. Please arrive at the royale palace before nighttime today and the dish shall be served seven days from now. Additional rewards include 1000 gold coins and a national treasure of choice," it read.
"If all went according to plan, not only do I get more bitches, I get rich too! Even an entire week of working in real life wouldn't allow me to top up 1000 gold coins," he thought, a smile forming on his lips.
Naturally, it wasn't going to be easy. There must be countless other chefs vying for the prize.
But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He had to win it.
And there was one dish only Jake knew how to make that would surely impress any girl: Sushi.
As far as he knew, sushi didn't exist in this world. And while the dish appeared simple, preparing them required intricate techniques that he had mastered over the years on earth. It wasn't as simple as rolling some cucumber in rice and seaweed. Sushi was a piece of art, the only other passion he had other than gaming. He already had plans about slaying krakens for a piece of squid meat, using the most exotic ingredients he could get his hands on. After all, he had to make it the best damn dish this world had ever seen.
But how could he get his hands on kraken meat? He knew a few locations where they roam, but he'd have to get a ship to get there, which would cost money he might not have. Plus, the ocean itself was vast; getting a taste of it would be near impossible.
"Can't think about that now," he sighed. "First things first, I need to prepare."
Then as he looked toward his right, he spotted an elder hanging up a commission paper of his own. He was a tall, skinny man with a beard, dressed in simple clothes and sandals, carrying a staff at his side.
"What are you doing?" Jake asked.
"This is mine," he answered. "I'm hanging up a job post."
"You can just do that?"
"What do you mean?" He scratched his beard, confused. "Whenever I need help, I generally put up a commission. Just make sure to include a proper reward, or else no one even cares, and it will be taken down, eventually."
"Oh? Then could I hang up my own?"
"Of course, why wouldn't you? Just inform the guild, and you're good."
He approached the counter, smiling at the receptionist, and wrote down his commission information, including the fact that he needed a ship.
"Good," he said after finishing. "Wait, but I don't have any reward I can give them."
"It doesn't have to be money. Anything goes, really, but the guild is entitled to some of it anyway," he explained.
"Hmm," he thought for a second. Suddenly, like a light bulb igniting inside his head, he realized what he could offer. Writing it down, he handed it over to the receptionist to approve.
"A magical liquid that can be infused with any magical properties?" he read. "That sounds interesting; I've never heard anything like it."
"It's a specialty of mine," he said, pleased. "So basically, I'm offering you something worth 50 gold coins."
"Really!?" she squealed. "I've always wondered what kind of ingredient those are."
"All I can say is that there is a bunch of protein in there."
"But are you sure? All you're asking for is a ship."
"I think there would be a bunch of skeptical people who doubt my magical liquid, so I've gotta earn trust somehow. Besides, it's not difficult to produce. It just takes a few minutes of hard work."
"Well then, I guess that's fine," she nodded.
And with that done, all he had to do now was to wait.
***
"Gwen!" shouted the maid from the hallway.
"Coming!" Gwen responded, dashing up from her bed.
"No, don't—eeerhhhh I was going to tell you to wear some clothes! Don't come out of the bedroom!"
"But I am! I'm already half clothed!"
"Stop lying to me, young lady!" the maid screamed at her. "You're naked! All you're wearing are panties—no, not even panties. You're literally only wearing socks!"
"I'm also wearing a bowtie!" Gwen defended. "It's not like I'm going to school, and I don't care about your opinion anyway!"
"Ugh, you're hopeless. This is why you can't socialize properly," she sighed. "For god sake, pleeease... Just wear a dress or something."
"Fine," she moaned. "I'm gonna wear this."
She opened the door, revealing nothing but a pair of socks and a thin white see-through bra. It barely covered her nipples.
"Oh my god!" the maid cried. "You look awful! No one should see your body like this!"
"Hey, that isn't how you speak to a princess!" Gwen scolded. "Plus, I'm a grown woman."
"Th-that... But that's exactly why you must wear clothes when you go outside!"
"What?! What's wrong with being naked?" Gwen questioned. "It's comfortable."
The maid just kept silent, her hand forming a disappointed facepalm.
"Okay, fine, I'll put on a dress," she relented. "But that's it."
"Thank goodness," the maid breathed a sigh of relief. "Just don't let me catch you like this again."
"I can't promise that, but I'll try."
With that settled, Gwen left her room and made her way downstairs, leaving her maid behind. She went through the rest of the castle until she reached a large room filled with tables, chairs, and bookshelves. In the middle of the room stood a desk with a single chair, and at its center was a small table with a teapot and two cups.
"Is it already time for dinner? We usually serve it later than this," she wondered aloud.
"Today wasn't very busy," the king replied from his seat behind the desk. "I think you should hurry and eat, before the rest of the guests arrive."
"Guests?" she asked, sitting down at her usual spot.
"Yes, I invited chefs from all over Ludron to create a dish even you would adore. They will be arriving soon."
"But I love eating breadsticks and cheese. I don't need anything else."
The king sighed. "You need variation. You need to expand your palate, otherwise your body won't be this pretty for much longer. I literally don't even understand how you're the beauty of our family with that diet."
"Maybe it's exactly the my diet that makes me pretty," she said, taking a bite of her breadstick.
"No, it's definitely not. You don't even eat vegetables."
"I eat ghost peppers?"
"I'm... I'm not really sure if that's healthy as your only vegetable source, but... whatever," he sighed.
"I'm perfectly fine, dad," she assured him.
Shoving the last cheese stick in her mouth, she picked up her cup and took a sip of tea, and ran back up to her room, immediately stripping down to bare socks again.