"Frostmoon Uprising?" Cora was a little bewildered. She instinctively wanted to ask about it, but as the thought circled through her mind and reached her lips, it gradually faded away.
Cora opened her mouth. She felt she wanted to ask something, but for the moment, she could not remember what.
Sidney took all of this in but said nothing, merely sighing softly. "You didn't experience it yourself, so you can't retain it in your memory."
Cora froze. "Huh? What are you talking about, my lord?"
"Where were we?" Her expression was somewhat bewildered. "Something about... sacrifice? Right, why can only nobles sacrifice other people? Why can't ordinary Paths do that?"
"I don't know about that. Supposedly, it has something to do with Emperor Trist. You studied that, didn't you? He established the Paths and made the sacrificial system flourish, and humanity no longer sought power from the Starry Sky after that, or something."
Sidney waved a hand. "Enough of that. Get ready to deal with Duke Sterling. He's coming back today, and he'll definitely want to see you."
At that, Cora paled and stammered, "D-do I really have to see him? Things are so tense on the front lines... Couldn't we say I've contracted deep-diving sickness and passed out, so I can't talk?"
"What's tense about the front lines? Those Dream Creatures barely even attack anymore. They keep retreating. If things continue like this, perhaps there won't even be any need for an expedition in the future." Sidney shook his head.
"But forget about pretending to be unconscious. The Reforging Flame might not be good at healing, but they're very good at waking people up. You wouldn't last through a couple of casual attempts."
"Besides, if you pretend to be unconscious under these circumstances and Duke Sterling wants to take