Gender-swapped Saintess: A Survival Diary on Hell Difficulty

"My dear Miss Tree."

"If you were to exhaust all your magic, what is the maximum number of crops you could ripen?"

As Roland spoke, her heart-shaped pupils shone with an intense gaze.

The Tree Lady seemed to see a succubus with insatiable desires, trying to exploit the poor tree spirit.

She shook her head and checked carefully.

Yes, Roland was indeed talking about greenhouses, not flirting with herself.

Ms. Tree sighed.

"Miss Roland, it's not that I don't want to help you."

"As you know, I've only just escaped from my predicament, and my strength is still very weak. My body is returning to its growth stage."

"Even if I use all my magic every day to accelerate the ripening of the fire wheat, it can only barely maintain the group's basic needs."

Roland was stunned.

"Oh, so little?"

The tree lady's eyes widened instantly, feeling that her dignity as a harvest tree spirit had been insulted.

"What do you mean by 'so little'? This is already a lot, okay?"

"Go find a druid superhuman and see if she can achieve even a tenth of my effect!"

Roland quickly apologized.

"Sorry, sorry, I just blurted it out."

She then sighed and turned to look at the swaying ears of fire wheat under the harvest tree.

Even a handful of wheat can stump a true hero.

"Sigh...it seems we really have to shut down the Krusty Krab factory for the time being."

"I'll remember this grudge against the tiger-headed man I raised!"

……

After Roland came down from the Hanging Gardens, she ordered the complete shutdown of the Krusty Krab factory.

The factory already had few orders, making it a bit quieter than usual.

After the order was given, the factory completed the last few orders and then fell into complete silence.

Although the employees had experienced a sharp drop in orders, they were still greatly alarmed by the factory shutdown.

The animal-eared girls, in particular, were terrified that the Roland Group would go bankrupt, and even started to raise funds on their own initiative.

The simple-minded beast girls collected the hidden copper and silver coins, packed them in cardboard boxes, and delivered them to the church.

In their residence, only the company tokens, which were essentially worthless outside, remained.

This move left Roland both amused and touched.

Roland made Jenny return all the money, repeatedly reiterated that there would be no layoffs, and started training at the spicy snack workshop ahead of schedule, which finally calmed the employees down.

……

However, as time went by, things changed.

Grain prices in the old port area rose far more than expected.

At first, only large grain merchants were hoarding grain, but gradually small grain shops on the streets and alleys joined this price frenzy.

Fortunately, there was Elizabeth's canned crab, so most people didn't feel anything.

But the poor at the bottom of society who could only afford black bread suffered terribly.

The cathedrals in the old port area were crowded with poor people begging for food.

The Roland Group is no exception.

On the outskirts of New Sprouts Street, dilapidated slums have reappeared.

It's like the old outer ring area, no... even worse than the old outer ring area.

These people only had time to set up their makeshift tents before braving the icy snow to camp outside Xinya Street.

Standing on the territory of the Roland Group now, looking out, it's nothing short of a human tragedy.

On the snow-covered ground, where there were no heating pipes, flimsy, coarse hemp tents were erected, and thin, poor people huddled together for warmth, shivering in the cold wind.

"Mom...I'm hungry."

A little girl nestled in the young girl's arms, her forehead burning hot, her voice filled with sorrow.

The girl's face was ashen and numb, and she showed no reaction.

It's not that she doesn't love her child, it's just that she's run out of tears.

The only response to the child was the rumbling in her belly and an even weaker embrace.

The two sat beside the dilapidated tent, which was devoid of firelight, like two tombstones waiting to die.

In the distance, on the territory of the Roland Group.

A beast-eared girl dressed in a food delivery uniform looked at this scene with pity in her eyes.

"They look just like we used to be."

"Back when our outer ring district hadn't yet been incorporated by Lady Roland, life was very difficult."

A colleague patted her on the shoulder.

"Stop lamenting. Check your insulated box. This batch of Krabby Patties is very precious. Rye flour is hard to come by these days."

The animal-eared girl pouted.

"I already checked it."

She shouldered the conspicuous yellow and black insulated box and began to walk outside.

Many other delivery workers like her are now carrying heavy insulated boxes on their backs.

They came from different areas, but without exception, they all ended up in the slums.

……

Under Roland's orders, the Krusty Krab factory resumed operations.

Delivery drivers transported the Krabby Patties to the slums, just as they used to do, offering simple jobs and providing relief food as payment.

Considering it was deep winter and the weather was cold, Roland simply extended part of the heating pipeline and established a simple temporary resettlement area.

These measures once again earned Roland a considerable amount of Faith Points.

The cost is that the rate at which the grain stored within the group is consumed increases significantly.

"Miss Roland, more and more poor people are coming here. This can't go on."

"Are you sure Miss Tree can handle it?"

Jenny looked at Roland and asked hesitantly.

Roland's lips twitched, and she nodded and then shook her head.

Ms. Tree has been suffering terribly these past few days.

In addition to processing government documents for the newly built temporary resettlement area, they also have to release a large amount of natural magic every day to accelerate the ripening of crops and replenish the group's inventory.

Roland thought for a moment and then said.

"I'll go take a look at the Sky Gardens first."

……

In the rooftop garden, Ms. Tree still sits behind her vine-covered desk.

However, her appearance was not as dignified and elegant as usual; instead, she had dark circles under her eyes, looking like a super-burdened worker who had been working overtime for three days straight.

Overdrawing one's magic power is never a pleasant experience for any superhuman.

It's like an old driver with overdrawn kidneys, his whole body is like a tattered cotton-padded coat that lets in the wind.

Looking at Ms. Tree's appearance, Roland couldn't help but lower her head in guilt.

"Miss Tree, are you alright?"

Ms. Tree shuddered as soon as she heard Roland's voice.

"My dear Miss Roland, please stop torturing me. My precious magic is being used to ripen wheat; it's such a waste!"

Roland's words were choked in her throat.

After a long pause, she finally spoke.

"Ahem, actually, I came here today hoping you could come up with a way to fully accelerate the ripening of greenhouse crops."

Ms. Shu's face turned pale.

"Miss Roland, I've already said that's impossible."

"I might have been okay before, but now I'm just a sapling that's only been growing for a few months!"

"A guy like you would have been accused of child labor abuse back in the day among the tree spirits!"

Roland nearly choked.

She took out a bunch of "Roland Brand Milk" from her spatial storage and lined them up on Ms. Tree's table.

The meaning is self-evident.

But Ms. Shu wasn't buying it.

"Come on, I've had my share of these too. Please, use some magic! Tree spirits need time to grow. No means no!"

Roland was at her wit's end.

She bit her lip, her gaze towards Ms. Tree seemingly about to draw out a string of threads.

"What if I had something even more powerful than this?"