Continuing with the Unlimited story, it's time to see Ymir in her natural habitat?
Enjoy!
Princess of the Iron Mountain
The Iron Mountain was where the dwarves lived, consisting of huge underground caves.
It was known as a huge factory throughout the Continent due to its abundant resources, like its hot springs and the underground lava—whose heat was used by the blacksmiths.
Among the many caves connected by the countless underground passages, a huge iron castle was inside the largest cave, its appearance oozing pride.
Two dwarves were inside one of its rooms: a princess with a fed-up expression and an old chamberlain with a resigned one.
“That’s why I say, I don’t feel like going on a marriage interview with any of those guys!”
The Iron Princess Ymir—princess of the dwarves and supervisor of the Iron Mountain—pushed back the drawings that depicted men with filthy beards back to her servant, without ever bothering to hide the annoyance from her face.
“But still.”
The chamberlain forcefully leaned forward.
“Ye will soon be of marriageable age, Princess, and since ye don’t seem to be settling down, we want ye to decide on a suitor, for the sake of the clan’s future as well.”
“I get that much! I do want to get married, too. That’s why I’m always wearing this battle dress, ready for marriage and war, aren’t I?”
“If ye could at least tell me why ye don’t like these gentlemen...”
“Fine then.”
She moved her eyes towards the drawings he had spread on the table.
“First, this guy.”
She pulled out one of them.
“This guy’s weaker than me. He’s a dwarf, but his favored weapon isn’t an axe, it’s a small sword instead... is this some kind of joke?”
She barked. Ymir was of the mind that dwarves had to be capable of swinging thick battleaxes or iron hammers effortlessly.
“Next, this one, he’s too old! Isn’t he as old as my old man?”
“However, Stemir’s achievements are splendid. The great axe he uses, called ‘Dragon Crusher’...”
“That *is* right, Dragon Crusher is an excellent article, but...”
She narrowed her eyes.
“I heard that lately his back hurts and he has trouble lifting it.”
“Who did ye hear that from?”
“From Stemir himself, that old man came directly to claim me as his wife.”
“Nnnnnnnh, if I didn’t have my position to think of...”
With creases in his forehead, the chamberlain pulled back Stemir’s drawing. That basically dropped him from the list of fiancé candidates.
“My conditions are few. One, he must be stronger than me!”
“We can’t easily find someone stronger than ye, Princess.”
“There is a proper reason, you know.”
“Pray tell, then.”
“Hm, then, let’s assume I get into a quarrel with my husband.”
“Mhm.”
“If he’s not someone who can keep me in check when I’m in the wrong, there will be trouble, won’t it.”
The old servant nodded. The presence of someone who could stop a nation’s lord when they were in the wrong was the difference between a healthy land and an unhealthy one. He was secretly happy at Ymir thinking that far ahead.
“But Princess, won’t there be trouble if ye two resort to violence every day?”
“I would refuse such a barbaric man.”
“I suppose ye would.”
“Second, he has to be young! After going through all the trouble of a marriage, it’d be a pity if I became a widow straight away.”
That sounded reasonable to him as well.
“And then...”
She kept listing conditions in succession, and unfortunately for the chamberlain, they appeared just as grounded.
“Well, I’ll just find him on my own, you just sit tight and wait.”
Saying so, she pushed back the last of the groom hopefuls’ drawings back to him; just your day-to-day in the castle.
***
“Thanks for waiting, Lady Claudette.”
When the chamberlain entered the guest room, he apologized frankly at having kept the other party waiting. Their guest was a country’s general, and she appeared to bring talk of a large transaction. It didn’t hurt to show some sincerity.
“Pay it no mind, I am the one bringing the offer to you. I would also understand if you thought I’m asking for the impossible.”
The Vance girl accepted the apology, while acknowledging that her conditions were unreasonable.
There was only one reason why she—the General controlling the Vance’s army—would come to the Iron Mountain in person to negotiate: she was trying to fit all her commanding officers with the high-quality weapons the dwarves were famous for.
“Still, whatever happened to the Iron Princess?”
When she noticed that Ymir—the representative in the business transactions—wasn’t present, Claudette couldn’t hide a small frown.
[If I’m being taken lightly, I might need to think this over.]
“The princess, you say...”
The chamberlain blinked a few times, visibly troubled, and let out a telling sigh.
“I could tell you, but it would only bring us shame.”
“Please rest assured, I won’t share it with anyone else.”
“I was actually trying to get the Princess interested in a fiancé, but apparently she liked none of the suitors, and she went out the door, saying she’d find one herself.”
He bowed his head in regret.
“You may raise your head, sir chamberlain.”
Despite being an illegitimate child, Claudette was still a princess of the Vance. She could understand Ymir’s feelings, being pressed to find a fiancé. Had she not achieved the position of General, her getting roped into a hurried political marriage would have been a distinct possibility.
“Let’s hope the princess can join us later on, and start off with the business talk.”
He eagerly nodded at her suggestion.
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