Gender-swapped Saintess: A Survival Diary on Hell Difficulty

Roland made an excuse to go to the kitchen, and when she peeked into the refrigerator, she found that there were indeed leftover ingredients for a king oyster mushroom baked rice.

When Tess was cooking, she didn't consider herself qualified to eat middle-class food.

"It's as if I'm some kind of shrew."

Roland muttered something to herself, then took a new set of cutlery from the cupboard and returned to her window seat.

She placed the new plate in front of Tess, and, meeting the little mute's puzzled gaze, used a knife and spoon to divide her half of the king oyster mushroom baked rice.

The sticky cheese stretched into long, thin strands in mid-air. It took Roland quite a bit of effort to serve the little mute a plate of baked rice.

"Here, little one, eat this."

Roland handed Tess a spoon, then moved the half-eaten coarse rice in front of her with her right hand, revealing a bright smile.

"Next time you see I've bought groceries for two, remember that one portion is for you."

"If you keep this high-end ingredient, the Magic King Oyster Mushroom, in the refrigerator for too long, it won't be fresh."

"Black Iron City has scarce agricultural resources, so it's not easy to get some fresh, good stuff... What's wrong with you?"

Roland stopped rambling and looked at Tess, who was staring blankly.

"Why are you looking at me? I'm eating baked rice."

Tess suddenly woke up, looked down at the still steaming baked rice on the plate, and felt a lump in her throat for some reason.

Instead of taking a bite right away, she put down her spoon and reached out to grope around on her seat, trying to find a slate to express her gratitude to Roland.

Having worked with Tess for over a week, Roland guessed the goblin girl's plan at a glance and grabbed her wrist, both amused and exasperated.

"Alright, alright, no need to be so polite, it's just a baked rice dish."

Looking at the reserved Tess, Roland had a sudden thought and raised her hand to cover Tess's soft, gray-green hair.

The hair is very soft, but it looks frizzy due to years of nutritional imbalance, like a half-dried tumbleweed.

Tess did not resist Roland's caresses.

Although in the common knowledge of Black Iron City, being touched by a succubus is an extremely dangerous sign, especially by a beautiful succubus like Loran with her curvaceous figure.

But Tess only felt care and warmth from Roland, and unconsciously relaxed her body, enjoying the stroking of her head.

Looking at Tess who had quieted down, Roland laughed and put the spoon back into Tess's hand.

"Eat up, consider this a reward for your hard work."

"After breakfast, I still need to prepare meals. Tomorrow is a day off, so tonight will be very busy."

"If you do well, I'll cook king oyster mushroom and cheese baked rice for dinner too. There's just enough of the ingredients in the kitchen."

……

The day off is usually the Sunday in the middle of the month.

On the day of rest, the Grey Dwarf nobles would gather at the church to worship the now-extinct Overseer.

The workers in the downtown area were thus given a chance to catch their breath and take a day off—unpaid, of course.

People often party on the eve of a holiday and then enjoy sleeping in the next day.

Therefore, the Spinning Goldfinch Tavern is exceptionally busy today.

The last group of guests finally left around 2 a.m.

Although Roland tried to send Tess home, she cleaned the house herself in her tentacle monster form.

But Tess, for some reason, seemed to have been injected with adrenaline, and she insisted on carrying a mop and rag to clean the tavern spotlessly before packing her personal belongings to go home.

Looking at Tess, who was walking unsteadily, Roland couldn't bear it and gave Tess an extra silver coin.

"Here you go, little guy, this is your paycheck for today."

Tess received two shiny silver coins, bit her lower lip, put one back in Roland's hand, and then took out the slate and wrote something with a charcoal pencil.

"Miss Laura, there's one extra."

"This is overtime pay, take it."

Roland stuffed the silver coin back into Tess's hand, her gaze fixed on Tess's delicate and tender face, a sense of guilt rising in her heart as she felt she had employed a child laborer.

Although he knew Tess was thirty-five years old, humans are visual creatures and couldn't bear to see the little girl being ravaged by heavy work.

Moreover, strictly speaking, a goblin's 35th birthday is roughly equivalent to a human's adolescence.

The more Roland thought about it, the more guilty she felt. She looked away from Tess's face and towards the dimly lit street outside the window.

At two in the morning, the dark underground is in the active period of dark elements, and the light is even dimmer, with only the glowing grass that never stops providing illumination.

Considering it's a day off, the chances of encountering thugs on the streets are higher, Roland suggested.

"Tess, why don't you stay at the tavern tonight? It's not safe to go home in the middle of the night."

"what?"

Tess made a surprised sound.

This was the only interjection she could utter, but it was enough to express her inner surprise.

To be honest, in Black Iron City, an invitation to stay overnight from Roland's succubus identity is almost tantamount to a criminal premonition.

Any normal person would have refused immediately and tried to escape quickly to report the incident to the demon guards.

But in Tess's mind, Loran was kind and gentle, and certainly not the kind of succubus who would drain people dry.

Or rather... even if she was completely drained, she accepted it.

With mixed feelings, Tess obediently nodded and accepted Roland's invitation to stay overnight.

"You agreed?" Roland turned her head to confirm again. "Since you agreed, then go take a shower in a bit."

"There are bathrooms on the second floor of the tavern, but I've found another place for the staff lounge. You'll probably have to sleep in the storeroom."

"Is that acceptable?"

Tess nodded immediately.

She had been inside the Rotating Golden Sparrow's warehouse before, because Roland had strict requirements for storage, and the interior was clean and tidy, far better than the slums in the lower city.

For her, sleeping in a warehouse was no less than staying in a hotel.

Roland felt a little embarrassed, as it was not proper to let Tess, a guest, sleep in the warehouse.

But there's nothing that can be done about it. The remaining staff lounge upstairs has been converted into an alchemy room and a potion stabilization purification room, which is not suitable for Tess to visit.

After confirming their overnight stay, Roland and Tess took baths one after the other.

Roland wore a light and smooth silk robe, a rather conservative style that covered her all the way up to her knees.

However, because of her incredibly sexy bust and hips, even the conservative style managed to make her exude a seductive charm.

Roland sat on the sofa in the tavern's lobby, holding a plant encyclopedia of the dark underground in her hand, supplementing her lack of underground knowledge as an imperial citizen.

After reading about ten pages, I heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

Roland looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the petite Tess was only wrapped in a bath towel, her gray-green hair was wet and hanging over her shoulders, and she was looking at her with a slightly fearful expression.

Tess slowed her pace and walked to Roland's side, frantically searching for the stone slab.

From Roland's perspective, the goblin girl appeared rather thin.

Not protruding in the front, not perky in the back, just a tiny A cup, ridiculous, ridiculous.

That is, the bath towel was short enough that, while bending over to search, the spring scenery was naturally revealed, reflected in Roland's pupils.

"What are you doing, little one?" Roland asked, looking confused. "Are you trying to seduce this fox... oh wait, I mean, this succubus?"

Tess blushed and shook her head, completely unaware of the oversight in Roland's words in her panic.

After searching for a while, she finally found the stone slab, and then wrote on it with her wet fingers.

"Boss Laura, your maid outfit is missing."

When Roland saw the common language on the stone slab, she suddenly realized what it meant and slapped her forehead.

Then she clenched her fist and lightly tapped her head, tilting her head and sticking out her tongue.

"Oh, I forgot."

"I've already washed away your maid outfit with a cleaning water balloon magic, and it's probably drying on the balcony now."

"Wait a minute, little one, I'll go find you some clothes."

Roland left the plant guide in the dark underground, strode up the stairs, and went into the bedroom next to the office to look for clothes.

Tess remained by the sofa, wrapped in a bath towel, standing there dumbfounded.

As Roland left, the panic on her little face faded slightly, replaced by embarrassment and shyness.

The cool night breeze crept into her crotch, and she instinctively squeezed her legs together, glancing at the spot where Roland had sat, trying to distract herself.

That glance revealed the plant catalog that Roland had laid down.

The encyclopedia records a large number of crops found in the dark underground.

The familiar text and illustrations made Tess's eyes light up.

Is Laura, the landlady, planning to expand into agriculture?