The Human Saint is Bored, so I was Summoned to Another World

The Holy Coalition (Part 1)

January 6th, in the first year of the Saint.

The Holy Congress had been dragging once again, not because of its old format of bilateral talks between the rulers of Chersea; but the human monarchs were divided about what to do with the Empire's blatant disregard for Maddie's ultimatum.

That the Emperor should appear before her, as soon as possible, didn't happen. I asked Lily about the travel time between north Chersea and the empire, just for reference. She told me it'd take about two 'long sleeps' for the Imperial ambassador, the Prince Vendette, to send Maddie's demands, a 'long sleep' for the Emperor to act on it, should he plan to delay it a little, and a further two 'long sleeps' to appear at the Holy Palatial Gardens via the fastest transport available.

"..."

However, it was the sixth 'long sleep', or 'day', since Maddie made her ultimatum, and there was no sign of the Emperor, nor an envoy from the Empire.

"..."

Naturally, Maddie and the other human kings were indignant.

"If that bastard wanted war, then he could've told us sooner!" it was King Rambo, "I'm itching for another round against that old geezer!"

"We can't let this blatant disregard for Her Holiness' demands!" another ruler, the Duke of Savoy, commented, "I say, we gather our armies and drive his legions back to the sea."

The room erupted into cheers at the Duke's suggestion. However, there were a few dissenting voices.

"Don't be so quick to go to war, Your Majesties!" the King of Calabria sought to calm his peers, "It can be that the Emperor has a grave reason for not attending. We should smooth this out through talks!"

"Yes! It's not your kingdoms that would be ruined should the trade between north Chersea and the Empire is cut-off!" another monarch—the King of Galad, took the stand of the King of Calabria, "As you know very well, my kingdom is an island, and with my population, there are only a few lands we can spare for food! Please reconsider!"

The floor soon devolved into another loud mob of royals trying to convince the others to either attack the legions stationed in Amaranth or exercise caution and prudence. Maddie was once again getting stressed-out by the exchange of arguments, and she sought to silence everyone.

Naturally, I and the other paladins intervened.

"Your Majesties!" Maddie spoke, "While there are merits in your suggestions—both for and against war, let me point out that we have given the Empire ample time to show their respect to this institution that we all agreed upon and tried to follow. However, as your saint, I wouldn't allow anyone, slave, commoner nor even a royal, to trample our collective wishes and goals to have a peaceful and stable Chersea for humankind!"

"Yes! That's my point as well, Your Holiness!" King Rambo shouted.

"Please keep silent, Your Majesty." Lily drew near and admonished her friend.

Disregarding them, Maddie continued with her speech, "I implore you, wise rulers of men, to exercise wisdom in these trying times. My proposal is that we approach this problem in two ways: one is that we're still open for communications, should the Emperor decide to avoid the course for war, and second, we should keep our vigilance and prepare for conflict, should it come to our borders!"

"Your Holiness!" it was the King of Calabria, "Does this mean, we're avoiding war?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Maddie cleared it for him, "I do not wish for conflict to happen. However, I also advocate that we should prepare for war, should further violations be committed."