Waltraute and a chibi Jack.
The Circumstances Leading to Waltraute's Marriage is a Light Novel written by Kazuma Kamachi in 2012, who is best known for A Certain Magical Index.
Waltraute, the fourth of the nine Valkyries, travels to Midgard on a routine mission. A human boy named Jack Elvan sees her and instantly falls in love, begging her to marry him. Annoyed, but not wishing to harm him, she says she will marry him if he can climb the World Tree Yggdrasil all the way up to Asgard with his own strength. To her shock, he takes the impossible challenge seriously and succeeds (sort of, see below). She keeps her word and they are married, and more adventures follow.
A fan translation of the light novel can be found here
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Kazuma Kamachi wrote a novel that crosses over all his novels called The Circumstances Leading to a Certain Magical Heavy Zashiki Warashi’s Simple Killer Princess's Marriage. The characters from the other novels find themselves in Waltraute and Jack's world and have to work together to save the day.
Tropes:
- 24-Hour Armor: Waltraute never removes her armor, and finds the idea of doing so a blasphemy. Jack doesn't mind; he thinks her armor is sexy.
- Achievements in Ignorance: Jack's defining trait is that he's so naive and innocent that he often doesn't notice that something significant is happening, and he ends up getting through in ways no one else would consider, without even realizing he has done anything special.
- During a date, Waltraute challenges him to a contest of his choice, confident she will easily win because Valkyries are physically superior to humans. He picks a card game and beats her easily. Her peers are shocked that he "outwitted" her.
- Jack asks the Dwarves to forge a tool for him, and honestly says he can only pay them seven silver coins. While everyone else knew that their items are cursed, no one except Frigg knew that the Dwarves do that in retaliation for their customers threatening or cheating them. Jack is rewarded for his honest transaction with a curse-free tool.
- Anachronism Stew: This world is the time of the Norse myths, yet has a few oddities like swimsuits, the Metric System, and the wings of Icarus. Everybody does Lampshade Hanging.
- Artifact of Doom: Dwarf-forged weapons and tools are typically cursed to bring misfortune and death to those who wield them. Gods and Valkyries are too powerful to be affected, but humans and giants are not so lucky.
- Back from the Dead: Siegfried briefly comes back to life to save everybody from Ymir the Frost Giant. After some brotherly advice to Jack, he willingly returns to being dead.
- Beach Episode: There is a bonus chapter where Jack, Waltraute, her sisters, and Freyja go to the beach.
- Beat Them at Their Own Game: Waltraute beats Thor in a battle of lightning. He was really upset afterwards.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: When Hel, queen of Niflheim comes to take Jack to add to her army, she gets flabbergasted when Jack bows to her out of respect due to being a queen, claiming it has never happened before. It was enough of a distraction for Waltraute to stop Hel's plans via Bolt of Divine Retribution.
- Bolt of Divine Retribution: Waltraute sends these a lot.
- Butt-Monkey:
- Heimdallr regularly gets beaten up by Waltraute, Frigg, and Freyja whenever they are displeased.
- Waltraute is a frequent target of ridicule from others such as Freya, Frigg, and even Heimdallr since no one is fooled by her tsunderish attempts to downplay her feelings for Jack.
- Character Filibuster: For a ten-year old boy, Jack can give some very good speeches. Such as the time when he persuaded the Giants not to start Ragnarok.Jack: Put down your weapons. The note of the Gjallarhorn being blown may one day ring throughout the nine worlds. The sun and moon may one day be swallowed up. The chains binding the great wolf Fenrir may one day be broken. …But that day is not today. We will convince our gods. We will have them lay down their weapons. So you lay down your own weapons. If you do that, this world that had begun to end can contain a few smiles once more.
- Chekhov's Gun: Waltraute uses the tool she confiscated from Jack to instantly defeat her eight sisters when they brand her a traitor and attack her by activating its tentacle feature. Luckily, she only uses it to restrain them.
- Cynicism Catalyst: Brynhildr, the first Valkyrie, is cold and emotionless due to her mortal beloved Seigfried cheating on her, which lead to her killing him in a rage. She begins to soften up when she meets Jack.
- Death Glare: Waltraute can terrify anybody, even Odin, with her glare. The first thing that Jack does to impress her is that he is completely unaffected by it. In fact, he doesn't even notice her trying to intimidate him.
- Didn't See That Coming: Nobody predicted that Jack would prevent Ragnarok by convincing Surtr to negotiate peace with Odin.
- Didn't Think This Through: Every time Jack goes on a journey, he does not pack adequate supplies due to underestimating the distance and overestimating his resilience, which makes his journey one of suffering. Even being reminded of the last time it happened cannot convince him to pack more.
- Engagement Challenge: Waltraute daring Jack to climb Yggdrasil, which she did not really expect him to actually try. Once he does, she has no choice but to keep her word. He ends up falling when he is halfway up, but Waltraute catches him because his strength and determination moved her to help him even through she promised she wouldn't, so she declares him the winner.
- Fairy Tale Motifs: The first chapter, which involves Jack's climb, was based on Jack and the Beanstalk.
- Fountain of Youth: The Gods and Valkyries have to regularly consume Iðunn's apples to maintain their youth, or else they will revert to their true age. At one point, Waltraute absentmindedly eats too many and temporarily turns into a ten-year-old. When the others suggest feeding Jack some apples, Waltraute says she wants to wait until he becomes a grownup.
- Neutral All Along: Everybody assumed Loki was working to start Ragnarok, when he was actually trying to prevent it. However, his methods are not what one could call good, and his motives for doing so are selfish. As he reminds Waltraute of, he's a joker, and he can be Asgard's best card leading them to victory or the worst card leading them to defeat. Loki is also the instigator of the crossover's events, only this time the events and his methods are clearly bad and his motives as selfish as before.
- Hypocritical Humor: Freyja is disgusted by Loki because she thinks he's a pedophile, but everybody points out that she's expressed a desire for Jack.
- Inertia Is a Cruel Mistress: When asked why the Valkyries don't just teleport next to an enemy, they explain that it takes a few seconds to re-materialize, so they are extremely vulnerable to being attacked during that period.
- The Jailbait Wait: The couple have not consummated their marriage. Waltraute is waiting for him to grow up and Jack is in fact too young to know about sex right now. Freyja comments that is boring.
- Language Barrier: Asgard's written language is different from Midgard's. Waltraute's horse learns this to his dismay when he tries to communicate with Jack by writing on the ground with his hoof.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Jack's parents are kept in the dark about his relationship. At the end of the novel, Waltraute finally reveals herself to them. Jack's father gets instantly smitten, which puts him in the doghouse with his wife.
- Long-Distance Relationship: They are married, but humans can't survive in Asgard due to the thin atmosphere and Waltraute has too many responsibilities to stay in Midgard for long. She visits Jack's house regularly for a date.
- Love Is a Weakness/Love Ruins the Realm: Odin opposes Jack and Waltraute's marriage for this reason. He believes Jack's influence will weaken her and prevent her from fighting effectively, dooming Asgard to lose during Ragnarok. It is later revealed that Odin mentally influenced Siegfried to cheat on Brynhildr and be killed by her for the very same reason.
- Mayfly–December Romance: Ultimately averted. The gods have access to Immortality Inducers, so the question is more "what age does Waltraute want Jack to be?" instead of "what will she do when he dies?"
- Medium Awareness: Several characters are aware they are in a light novel. For one thing, some of Waltraute's sisters complain about lack of screen time. Freyja boasts that she's so sexy she has to be censored.
- The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: When Waltraute is temporarily turned into a ten-year-old, she acts like herself at first, but then gradually starts loosening up and acting like a kid.
- Mundane Utility: Waltraute, Frigg, and Freyja use The Gjallarhorn, the horn that blows to signal Ragnarok, like a telescope. Heimdallr is appalled, but he can't do anything about it.
- Muscles Are Meaningless: Heimdallr is a very large god, yet his strength is nothing compared to Waltraute and the others.
- Mistaken for Pedophile: Whenever Loki and Jack interact, everybody assumes Loki is going to try something inappropriate.
- Night of the Living Mooks: Anybody who dies and goes to Valhalla becomes an Einherjar, a zombie that retains his strength, skills, and memories, but is basically an Empty Shell controlled by the Gods and Valkyries. The Einherjar are meant to be used as foot soldiers during Ragnarok. Siegfried was taken out of the army and used as Brynhildr's personal bodyguard, as punishment for betraying her.
- Precocious Crush: Jack is barely into puberty and Waltraute has the body of a young adult.
- Power Perversion Potential: Jack gains from the Dwarves a multi-tool knife specifically designed to cut through a Valkyrie's armor (not that he had any perverted thoughts, Frigg told him it would be nice for Waltraute to wear a different outfit once in a while). Later they find out that the amused Dwarves added a feature where the tool turns into a mass of tentacles that will restrain the Valkyrie and pleasure her to ecstasy. Being too young, Jack doesn't understand, but an enraged Waltraute confiscates the tool and bombs the Dwarves with a Bolt of Divine Retribution several times. When Freyja learns about this, she asks if she can borrow it (to use it on herself), but is overruled.
- Really Gets Around: Freyja, as everybody likes to point out. Even the narration from her introductory scene gets a shot in.Freyja was the goddess said to have forgotten her chastity inside her mother when she was born.
- Screw Destiny: Loki rejects his destiny as enemy of Asgard, and attempts to prevent Ragnarok by assassinating Surtr. In the end, Jack prevents Ragnarok in a different way; see Didn't See That Coming.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Jack only has eyes for Waltraute. Case in point: he is entirely unaffected by Freyja, despite her being the goddess of beauty.
- Shipper on Deck: Heimdallr, Frigg, and Freyja for Jack and Waltraute.
- Shock and Awe: Thor of course. The Valkyries are all armed with Spears of Destroying Lightning.
- Statuesque Stunner: The Goddesses and Valkyries are all very tall by human standards.
- Teleportation: Gods and Valkyries can use the Bifrost to teleport anywhere in the nine realms except for Muspelheim and Niflheim. They mention that the process breaks them down and reassembles them at the destination.
- Tsundere: Waltraute for Jack. It's clear from the start, with Waltraute's constant angry reactions towards Heimdall when he continually teases her about Jack's challenge for her hands in marriage.
- Valkyries: Waltraute and her eight sisters all show up.
- What Beautiful Eyes!: Waltraute says this about Jack. He may be a scrawny kid who's never been in a fight before, but he has the eyes of a true warrior.
- Would Hurt a Child: Odin, displeased by the couple's union, tries to get Jack killed. Because of his wife Frigg's displeasure, he can only do so indirectly.
- Yaoi Fangirl: Freyja mentions she thinks two guys together is hot. She clarifies that she only likes it if they are both adults; pedophiles disgust her.
- You Cannot Grasp the True Form: In her full glory, Freyja is too bright for Jack to see. She has to power down to interact with him.
