CHAPTER 565: CHAPTER 562: INVITATION

Catherine wore an apron around her waist, skillfully holding two plates with one hand.

She briefly asked Ronald a question.

Then Catherine sat opposite Ronald, placing the two plates in front of them.

The food she prepared for both was the same.

Both had a serving of fried eggs and a dish of pasta with red sauce.

Ronald quickly estimated that the portion in front of Catherine was even less than his own.

"Thank you."

He nodded to the red-haired girl across from him, carefully set his manuscript aside, then responded,

"I am indeed quite interested in the content above."

"Especially the views on productivity."

Hearing Ronald’s response, Catherine’s expression subtly changed as she raised her eyebrows.

She took a bite of her fried egg before speaking earnestly,

"It’s no wonder, at this time, someone could find their way to Barrier Mountain."

"You instantly figured out the core issue of my research."

Ronald nodded.

He then leaned over and tasted the lunch Catherine had served him.

Unexpectedly,

both the fried eggs and the seemingly simple pasta were delicious, beyond what one would expect from a wizard deeply immersed in spell research.

Savoring the flavors,

Ronald weighed the importance of the information and the document in front of him.

Thus, quite straightforwardly, Ronald continued,

"I saw that the manuscript also includes thoughts on productivity, could you talk about that?"

"Oh~~"

Hearing Ronald’s inquiry, Catherine put down her utensils and leaned back.

With her arms crossed and legs poised, she retorted with a teasing tone, "Drake, since you understand the significance of my research, you must also guess its importance."

"What are you willing to give in exchange if you want me to continue explaining?"

"..."

Ronald answered seriously,

"I’m not looking for a one-sided explanation but think we could exchange views. Perhaps we both could learn something."

"Tsk—"

Catherine seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Ronald’s reply.

She smacked her lips, then stood up with her plate.

"Come on, let’s go up and see."

Without waiting for Ronald’s response, Catherine immediately left the living room and headed towards the spiral staircase in the tower.

Seeing Catherine’s actions,

Ronald reflected for a moment, then picked up his plate and followed her.

Catherine did not stop for a second, nor did she forget to enjoy the food on her plate.

By the time lunch was almost finished,

she had also led Ronald to the top of the Astronomical Magic Tower.

There were no aggressive arrays as one might imagine here.

Aside from the continuously rotating astral telescope above, there were only a few tables and chairs and a teapot.

Catherine casually walked to a chair and sat down, then signaled to Ronald,

"Come, sit down let’s talk."

"..."

Ronald dutifully sat opposite Catherine.

Then, the wizard pointed to the sky and asked:

"Drake, look at this sky, do you feel anything?"

Ronald, feeling somewhat alarmed, tentatively replied,

"Just an ordinary sky..."

"No, it’s not normal." Catherine decisively contradicted Ronald. But there was no anxiety in the girl’s tone, nor any other negative emotion. She simply spoke calmly, as if in a normal conversation,

"You know, this sky is fake."

"Ascending past the gaseous layer leads to a dark void; though we haven’t yet reached the bottom by digging, the black fog void surely awaits us below. Living in such a confined world, the exhaustion of resources is just a matter of time."

"..."

Having heard this.

Ronald felt somewhat arrogant and deeply reflected on it.

Before entering the "Infinite Negative Domain," Ronald had imagined the situation of the people sealed within it, clearly identifying them as an ’organization of Casters intent on revenge.’

But in reality?

Just picking out a dozen people at random, one could encounter all sorts of individuals with different personalities, let alone in a world like the "Infinite Negative Domain."

The complexity of humans is never something that can be simply summarized.

As Ronald was self-reflecting, Catherine continued to speak,

"Drake, I’m unsure what the outside world is like now. But according to the records in the academy, it too is a world predominantly ruled by Wizards at the societal apex."

How far had Catherine’s thoughts progressed?

Hearing this, Ronald couldn’t help but ask,

"You’re saying the outside world, are you implying that it too..."

"Exactly, that’s what I mean." Catherine’s tone remained as calm as before, but the thoughts it contained were extraordinary, "Whether it’s our seal or the outside, fundamentally, they are just differently-sized confined worlds."

"Either way, we need to face the reality of limited resources and land."

"To continually move toward the future... we either carve out a path to other worlds or we can only look upward."

Ronald continued to ask,

"Between these two paths, which do you favor more?"

Catherine poured two cups of water, drank hers first, and then explained,

"Although it wasn’t their intention, the path to other worlds has already been validated by those in the summoning department. Due to the differences between worlds, humans traveling to other worlds are basically headed towards certain death."

"So... there’s really only one correct path left."

At this point, Catherine set down her teacup and pointed at the sky with her finger.

Ronald sincerely admired,

"This really is... a perspective fitting of the head of the astronomy department."

Suddenly, Catherine laughed.

And this time, her smile lacked any previous mocking sentiment.

"From yesterday until now..."

"Drake, this is the first time you’ve genuinely complimented me."

Ronald became alert.

Mind Reading Technique?

Catherine’s judgment was too accurate, yet Ronald hadn’t felt any Magical Power probing him.

Had this Wizard used a Spell similar to a "Lie Detector"?

Or was there some special magic artifact?

In a magical world like the "Infinite Negative Domain," Ronald could only face the situation with as much caution as possible.

At that moment.

Catherine stood up and walked over, gently patting Ronald’s shoulder.

"I’ve prepared everything for you to join the astronomy section, you can get it on the seventh floor."

After finishing her sentence, Catherine bent over and whispered in Ronald’s ear.

In a teasing tone, she invited,

"I’m about to teach those lovely wizard apprentices."

"If you’re interested, you might want to come and take a look~~"