Gender-swapped Saintess: A Survival Diary on Hell Difficulty

The Iron Church.

She worships a steel maiden who oversees forging and mining. She was once a young deity, but during a period of great chaos, she rose to prominence through war trade and became a high-ranking deity.

The main races under its rule are mountain dwarves and humans.

Due to some historical reasons, the Grey Dwarves do not like the Mountain Dwarves, and after they fled to the dark underground, the relationship between the two deteriorated sharply.

So when Dura learned that Roland was connected with the Iron Church, her attitude became somewhat displeased.

To this, Roland simply shook her head.

"How could I be a spy?"

"If you were the head of the Iron Church, would you send a weak and discriminated-against lowly succubus to the lower city of Black Iron City as a spy?"

"Moreover, when I was looking for a job in the Adventurers' Guild and was repeatedly turned down, it was Secretary Cecilia who took the initiative to find me, which allowed me to work under the young lady."

After a moment's thought, Dura also felt that what was said made sense, and became even more curious about Roland's identity, so she asked him further.

"Then you must have some connection with the Steel Church, right?"

"certainly……"

Roland paused for a moment, a look of gratitude in her eyes.

"I used to be a junior potion master in the Empire, and my job was to assist Her Highness Elizabeth in producing stable potions. I was essentially an unofficial member of the Iron Church."

"However, I angered a high-ranking figure in the church because of a love affair, so I fled to the dark underground. Fortunately, I was taken in by the young lady and was able to settle down in Black Iron City despite my poor and weak condition."

Roland's tone was very sincere, but the content of her words was half true and half false.

Assisting Elizabeth in producing Stabilizing Potions—duh, she's the originator of Stabilizing Potions.

She's an unofficial member of the Steel Church—she's an undercover agent.

An emotional dispute angered a prominent figure in the church—Tiger Head Bizanah, who was indeed an enemy, and resentment could be considered an emotional dispute.

There are two reasons why she chose to use this identity.

First, she has lived in the Empire since she transmigrated, and has a deep understanding of the Empire's customs and culture, making it difficult for her to be exposed.

Secondly, when Princess Elizabeth III bought the formula for the regular version of the stable potion and began researching mass production, she did indeed "deal with" a group of company members with ulterior motives, including succubi.

"The most touching lies are often mixed with some truth."

Roland thought to herself.

But Durra didn't believe Roland's words so easily.

The young lady of the Grey Gold family simply looked at Roland silently before speaking.

"Really? I don't believe it."

"These are just your side of the story. What evidence do you have to prove everything you've said?"

Roland pursed her lips, feigning an inner struggle, and shook her head.

"Not yet. My plan to escape to the dark underground was very well hidden. No one knows my whereabouts, and I haven't left any evidence."

"However, I have something I urgently need from you, young lady."

"Perhaps an exchange of benefits can build trust between us."

Dura looked at Roland with great interest.

"Benefits? What do you want from me?"

"I want medicine to treat spatial erosion, or rare and precious herbs."

"Roland said in a deep voice."

"During my smuggling journey into the dark underground, I suffered severe spatial erosion, and my body and strength deteriorated to the extreme, and I could no longer hold on."

As soon as she finished speaking, Roland activated the magic power in her body, emitting a complex and varied magical aura.

Anyone with superhuman abilities could sense the obvious instability within it.

Furthermore, as the magic power dissipated, abnormal spatial fluctuations were felt all around, which is the most obvious symptom of severe spatial erosion.

At that moment, Roland coughed a few times at just the right time, and a blush rose to her cheeks.

The coughing motion shook out a strand of hair, which fell above the bridge of her nose, making her look like a beautiful woman who was dying.

Dura and Sissia leaned closer, focusing their attention, their expressions turning serious.

"With this level of spatial erosion, what kind of shoddy, low-quality portal did you use?"

"Ahem, in times of emergency, one must act expediently..."

Roland coughed twice more, recalling the terrifying scene of being surrounded by five dark-skinned, burly men, creating a horrifying atmosphere of five black men and one white man, and felt a chill run down her spine, as if a sudden wind had blown out of nowhere.

Despite feeling a chill in her heart, she forced two tears to well up in her eyes and said...

"I had no choice at the time; I had to use the worst possible method of teleportation."

"Young lady, I know that the medicine to treat spatial erosion is very expensive in the dark underground. I am willing to exchange my hard work and loyalty for a chance to live with you."

"May I?"

Roland's pitiful appearance was truly endearing.

Especially her attire as a married woman, she resembled a beautiful widow who had lost her beloved husband before even consummating their marriage, as fragile as a lily in winter.

But in reality, because the system risked failure to protect itself, Roland didn't suffer any pain from the spatial erosion at all. At most, her strength dropped by several levels, and she returned to the life of a rookie apprentice.

Dura was unaware of the system's existence; as a native, she couldn't believe such a wondrous thing as a system existed in the world.

In her view, Roland, who was suffering from severe spatial erosion, had indeed reached the end of her road. If she did not receive treatment soon, she would not have many years left to live.

The fact that he can still seem alive and kicking is purely due to his superhuman physique and the fact that his magic hasn't completely dissipated.

And so, Durra was tempted.

Roland's personal abilities are truly remarkable, and her judgment of the business market situation is absolutely exceptional.

Relying solely on the limited intelligence network around the taverns in the lower city, she was able to clearly guess the future development focus of the upper city.

Their management skills are truly exceptional; in just a few months, they revived the Golden Sparrow and transformed it into a potential asset.

If Roland wasn't lying, she should still possess a stable potion formula and have considerable potion-making skills and strength.

Although the superhumans in the surface world are generally not as strong as those in the Dark Underworld, having magic as a foundation makes everything easier, especially for a high-level manager in a business guild.

Overall, 99% of the new generation of young people raised by the Roland family are more outstanding than those raised by the Grey Gold family.

"Gurgle."

Dura made a very faint swallowing sound, her eyes fixed intently on Roland.

She admitted that she was attracted to him.

Of course, she wasn't attracted to succubi; she hated them and would never be sexually interested in a slut.

She was attracted to a business talent.

Especially since this business talent was seriously injured and had a clear weakness...

And he himself was able to control this weakness, and even had a shackle that could be put around Roland's neck.

Dura and Sissia exchanged a quick glance, then reached under the table and gently grasped the gold coin pendant hanging from their waists.

She maintained a calm demeanor, showing no outward change in expression, and spoke.

"Miss Laura, you want to treat the spatial erosion, no problem."

"It just so happens that the Gray Gold family has a plan to purchase a large quantity of medicinal herbs recently, and I would be happy to provide you with everything you need for treatment."

"Our Gray Gold family welcomes someone as talented as you and will not discriminate against your succubus race. However, I would like to add one more condition."

Roland raised an eyebrow slightly, her feigned pitiful expression softening slightly.

"Is there anything else you need me to do, young lady?"

"Let's make this clear first: I won't agree to any of those unspoken workplace rules about not being able to afford clothes."

A "well" shape appeared on Dula's forehead.

"I wouldn't do the kind of succubus-like lewd things, so don't make assumptions!"

"I just want to know the actual usage of stabilizing potions, and how you cultivate low-pollution crops—this is important to us!"