Chapter 102: The Deli No. 1 Farm
After that little incident, the low-ranking vampires became much more obedient. Adele wasn’t sure if they had truly learned their lesson or were simply biding their time. Time passed, and the semester came to an end. Adele’s evaluation report was sent to Blake Castle, but she had no intention of returning home. She remained at Spark Farm, continuing her work.
She even started acquiring neighboring farms. “Neighboring” was a relative term in this sparsely populated region. The new farms were still quite far away. Adele took Jasmine, a few maids, and several farm managers with her to inspect the new properties. Jasmine also contacted the Commander, requesting a new advance team to be stationed there. In her vision, the Human Resistance Army would eventually be closely tied to Adele’s enterprises. Peaceful development was one path, but peace without strength was an illusion. Humans had to maintain their own power.
The Commander also had good news. After tireless research, they had finally developed firearms. The advance team brought some prototypes for Jasmine to inspect. She tried them out. She had never handled firearms in her previous life, but she had seen them often enough in movies and TV shows to understand the basic operation.
The results were… impressive. The firearms were powerful, and if the bullets were coated with sunflower juice, they would be lethal to vampires. Firearms could penetrate vampires’ defenses, and sunflower juice was highly toxic to them. They were also effective against other species, after all, everyone was made of flesh and blood.
However, the firearms were still unstable, prone to misfiring, which could injure the user. Jasmine had fired five shots, and three of them had misfired. If it weren’t for her cheat abilities, her hand would have been blown off. It was a case of “hurting the enemy one thousand, self-inflicting eight hundred,” but with further research, firearms would eventually become humans’ most powerful weapon.
Adele also recognized the potential of firearms. They might seem like a joke now, but they would eventually pose a threat to vampires. But Adele wasn’t worried. In fact, she wanted to see the weak become strong. She was a true pacifist.
However, this pacifist had a major disagreement with Jasmine, a disagreement that almost led to a full-blown argument. Adele insisted on naming the new farm “Jasmine Farm No. 2,” while Jasmine, finding the name too embarrassing, vehemently refused.
“How can you do this?! We named Spark Farm after Jasmine! I should get to name the new farm!”
“You can name it, but not ‘Jasmine Farm No. 2’.”
Jasmine’s gaze was cold, colder than usual. She wanted to curl up in a ball and disappear. And she had caught the “No. 2” part. Adele was still determined to rename Spark Farm to “Jasmine Farm No. 1.”
No! Absolutely not!
Jasmine did want to be remembered throughout history, but she envisioned a more mysterious legacy, a code name associated with her deeds, inspiring awe and reverence while maintaining an air of enigma. But “Jasmine Farm No. 1, 2, 3, 4…” How could she be mysterious with that?
Besides, she was a chuunibyou, not a social butterfly! The thought of a bunch of farms bearing her name was mortifying!
But Adele wouldn’t budge. She wanted “Jasmine Farm No. 2”!
After several days of agonizing over this, Jasmine came up with a compromise. “How about this? We both make a concession. We’ll call it ‘Deli Farm No. 1’.”
Adele was confused. The name “Deli” had nothing to do with either of them. Jasmine then proceeded to explain, with a straight face, that “Deli” was a combination of their names, taking parts from “Adele” and “Jasmine(Mò
This was true in Jasmine’s native language, but in Adele’s language, “Deli” was completely unrelated to their names. It was just a random name. But Adele was touched by Jasmine’s effort. She agreed to this seemingly nonsensical name.
Jasmine really loves me, Adele thought. She said she didn’t want the farm named after her, but then she came up with a name that combined both of our names. This is… even more romantic than “Jasmine Farm No. 2.”
And so, the new farm was named “Deli Farm No. 1.”
Time passed, and it was time for Adele to return to Blake Castle. She wasn’t submitting to her parents. Blessing Day, the most important vampire holiday, was approaching, and she had to be there. It was like a child running away from home but returning for a major family gathering. It was unavoidable.
She purchased an airship ticket, gave instructions for the management of both farms, and then boarded the airship with Jasmine.
Upon arriving at the port in the Blake territory, Adele saw the familiar carriage and servants. The servant opened the carriage door, welcoming her as if nothing had happened. Adele got in. Upon arriving at the castle, the head maid, also acting as if nothing had happened, took Jasmine away to resume her duties.
Adele returned to her room, freshened up, changed clothes, and then went to see her father. The Blake patriarch also didn’t mention their previous conflict, simply praising Adele for achieving first place again. Adele wasn’t surprised. It was only natural for her to excel. After years of receiving her father’s guidance, she understood the family’s finances. Comparing Spark Farm’s performance to the other farms owned by the Blake family, she knew how impressive her results were.
Next semester, with her expansion plans, she would surely continue to dominate.
After receiving her father’s praise, Adele presented him with the detailed reports on Spark Farm’s management. The Blake patriarch’s expression changed slightly as he reviewed the data. The numbers Adele had shown him were even more impressive than those she had reported to the academy. After carefully studying the reports, he didn’t immediately discuss the farm’s operations. Instead, he asked, “I heard you’ve added many otherworldly beings and low-ranking vampires to your workforce?”
“Yes.”
Adele’s tone was casual, but her heart skipped a beat. She knew that even though Spark Farm was remote, her father would definitely have people monitoring it, just in case something happened. But knowing it theoretically and hearing it directly from her father were two different things. His words made her wonder: Where are his informants? Have they infiltrated my farm? Have I said anything careless?
Another round of subtle probing ensued between father and daughter. Perhaps because Adele had just returned, the Blake patriarch didn’t press her too hard. He simply said, “While you were away, your mother, although she didn’t say it, missed you very much. It seems the young Green boy wasn’t meant for you. He’ll probably be engaged to Golden soon. Your mother is upset, and you haven’t been home in a while. Go see her later.”
His mention of the young Green boy was a way of telling Adele that she didn’t need to worry about marriage for now. Actually, the Blake patriarch wasn’t very fond of the young Green boy either. His talent and lineage were both lacking. So, whether or not he married Adele didn’t matter much.
But if a more suitable candidate appeared, the Blake patriarch, just like his wife, would arrange for Adele to marry them.
Still, this was good news. At least, the Blake Lady wouldn’t be pushing for an engagement right now.
After leaving her father’s study, Adele went to see her mother. The Blake Lady was still angry. Seeing Adele, she immediately launched into a tirade, “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Adele. Look at you, all grown up and rebellious, daring to hypnotize your own mother and sneak away from home…”
Before she could finish, Adele interrupted, “Mother, I didn’t sneak away from home.” In fact, she had defeated several of her mother’s personal maids before leaving the castle.
The Blake Lady’s face darkened even further. Honestly, being hypnotized by her own daughter was incredibly humiliating, so humiliating that she couldn’t even tell her sister. She, a noble vampire with centuries of experience, a daughter of the Golden family, the wife of the Blake patriarch, even though she hadn’t focused on combat skills like her sister, she was still a powerful vampire. And yet, she had been hypnotized by her own daughter, a newly-adult vampire!
It was a disgrace!
Furious, she raised her fan, covering her face, her voice sharp, “Well, aren’t you clever!” She chuckled, her tone mocking, “You didn’t want to be engaged to the young Green boy, so now Golden has snatched him up. They’re getting engaged soon.”
“The next generation of vampire offspring won’t be born for at least a few centuries. By then, they might not be interested in an ‘old’ lady like you.” The Blake Lady thought her words were cruel, but to Adele, they sounded like good news.
She didn’t care about finding a suitable partner. She was happy with Jasmine, and if they could stay together forever, unmarried, that would be ideal. Besides, having a few centuries to figure things out wasn’t bad either. But then a wave of sadness washed over her. She could live for hundreds, even thousands of years, but Jasmine was human. Her lifespan was limited to a mere century…
She had thought about this before, when her mother had tried to set her up with potential suitors. Perhaps she could stay with Jasmine, watch her marry, have children, and live a happy life. And Adele could protect Jasmine’s descendants, ensuring their safety and well-being. But now that they were together, Jasmine wouldn’t have any children. What would Adele do after Jasmine’s death?
Adele’s face darkened. Unpleasant thoughts filled her mind, and the Blake Lady, seeing her somber expression, assumed that her words had hit their mark.
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