"Would you be my pet?"

I glared.

What did she just say? A pet? This girl must have misunderstood. I was sincere toward her, but that didn’t mean I was willing to become her pet. I still had my pride as a bird soaring free in the sky, I wouldn’t let anyone take that freedom away from me.

I shut my eyes and, without a second thought, shook my head firmly.

"I see..." Fenrir’s voice suddenly dropped, turning cold.

Without warning, her fingers clenched tightly around me.

"Caw. Caw. Caw!" I screeched in pain, writhing to break free, but her grip was too strong, just like a wolf sinking its fangs into its prey.

"Perhaps I should rephrase my question." She glared at me with sharp eyes. "Will you be my pet, or my dinner, Ugly Bird?"

I swallowed hard. Clearly, this wasn’t an offer, this was a threat driven by her selfishness.

Without warning, she opened her mouth as if she were about to eat me. I thrashed and squawked uncontrollably. "Caw! Caw! Caw!"

"I don’t understand what you’re saying. Now, be quiet for a moment."

I obeyed, my body trembling in fear.

"Good." A satisfied smile spread across her face. "Now, nod your head for yes and shake it for no. Understand?"

I nodded.

"I’ll ask you one more time, will you be my pet or not, Sweet Raven?" Her voice was gentle, her smile sweet, but it was obviously fake. This wasn’t a choice, it was a clear-cut threat.

Cold sweat trickled through my feathers.

Meanwhile, Fenrir continued to pressure me with her fake smile and menacing words. "Come on, hurry up before I change my mind."

Reluctantly, I gave a small nod.

Fenrir’s lips curled into a pleased smile. She then pulled me into a tight embrace, pressing me against her chest. "Yay! I knew you actually wanted this. You were just too shy, little raven."

Who’s shy? You threatened me.

Now, I could only resign myself to fate, sacrificing my freedom for her selfish whims. But perhaps… that was still better than becoming her meal.

I let out a deep sigh. How did I end up in such miserable luck?

Fenrir then looked at me, still trapped in her arms. "As proof that you’re my pet, I’ll give you a little gift."

I tilted my head curiously. A gift? What kind of gift?

"First, I’ll give you a name!"

I tilted my head again. A name, huh...

It was something I hadn’t thought about in a long time, not since I was reborn as a raven. To animals, names were meaningless. None of us had names, yet we could still recognize each other through instinct.

But having a name it brought back nostalgia of my past life. Yes, as a human, I must have had a name, even if I couldn’t remember it.

I supposed, there was nothing wrong with having a name in this second life. A small smile tugged at my beak.

Fenrir loosened her hold, allowing me to perch on her slender hand. She gave me a bright smile. "Listen carefully, Sweet Raven. I will now give you your name. From this moment on, your name shall be..."

My heart pounded with anticipation, eager to hear the name she had chosen. I secretly hoped for something cool, like Siegfried, or Sigmund, or maybe some other Norse hero.

"Den Stygge! (The Ugly One!)"

I froze. It felt as if the sky had just collapsed on top of me. My hopes were shattered beyond repair.

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Den Stygge? The Ugly One? That was the best she could come up with? I had never met a girl as foolish as her. She actually gave me a name that literally meant "ugly".

"Caw! Caw! (I refuse that name, you foolish girl!)" I screeched, thrashing wildly in protest. "Caw! Caw! (Take it back, you stupid wolf!)"

"You’re so energetic! You must really like the name!" Fenrir beamed, completely unaware of my outrage.

Like it? I’d have to be insane to accept a name like that. I launched myself onto her head and started pecking her furiously. Take this, you foolish girl. Feel my wrath. Take it.

"Ow! Ow! That hurts!" Fenrir yelped, trying to shield her head. "What are you doing, Stygge? You’ve never been this noisy before!"

"Caw! Caw! (How dare you call me by that awful name! Take this!)"

I doubled down on my assault. Not only did I peck at her, but I also ruffled her hair with my claws and beak. At this point, I didn’t care what she would do to me.

"Stop it! Why are you so mad?"

I halted my attack and hopped onto the ground, flapping my wings furiously while screeching at her, hoping she would understand my anger. "Caw! Caw! Caw!"

Fenrir furrowed her brows. "Wait… don’t tell me… you don’t like that name?"

Finally. She was getting it.

I nodded.

Her wolf ears drooped, her tail sagging in disappointment. "Alright, I’ll come up with another name."

She scratched her chin, deep in thought. After a brief moment, her ears perked up, she had an idea. "Ah! How about… Svart! (The Black One!) That suits you, right?"

Once again, my hopes were mercilessly crushed.

To be fair, it wasn’t a bad name, but… ugh. Was there really nothing better?

"What do you think? Isn’t it good?"

I shook my head.

Fenrir’s ears drooped again. She stared at me with pleading eyes, as if begging me to accept it. But I turned my head away, refusing to acknowledge her until she found a proper name.

"So you don’t like it…" Her ears flattened again. "Then… how about Poppet! (Little One!)"

I didn’t even react. I simply spread my wings, preparing to fly away, but she grabbed me again.

"Wait! Don’t go! I have another name for you!"

Fenrir started throwing out more ridiculous names, and I rejected each one with increasing frustration, occasionally screeching in protest.

Slowly but surely, her patience wore thin. Her jaw clenched tightly. "Why won't you accept the name I gave you? Don’t they all sound beautiful?!"

Not backing down, I cawed even louder, flapping my wings to express my disapproval. "Caw! Caw! (Are you stupid? How does any of those names sound beautiful?!)"

Fenrir ruffled her own hair in frustration. "Then what kind of name do you want?!"

I stared at her in disbelief. Was it really that hard to come up with a name? Was her sense of naming really that bad?

"Don't look at me like that!" Fenrir raised her voice. She then turned her head away and crossed her arms. "I don’t care anymore! Just pick your own name!"

I sighed. In the end, she left the decision to me. Well, this was probably better than accepting one of her ridiculous names.

I thought for a moment, recalling all the names I had ever heard in my past life. After some consideration, a name finally came to mind. But the problem, how was I supposed to tell her? She wouldn’t understand my words.

My eyes scanned the area, searching for a solution. Spotting several fallen branches, an idea popped into my head.

I quickly gathered some dry twigs and began arranging them.

Fenrir tilted her head. "What are you doing?" She stepped closer, squinting as if trying to understand my actions. "Wait… are you writing?"

I gave her a brief nod before continuing.

"That’s amazing! I’ve never seen an animal that could write before!"

I puffed out my chest proudly at her praise, though in truth, my ability to write came from my past life as an archaeologist.

After a while, I was satisfied with my work. The twigs now spelled out the name I wanted.

Yatagarasu.

That was the name I chose. The name of the divine crow from Japanese mythology, known as a wise and clever god of guidance.

Maybe it sounded strange in the Norse lands, but to me, it was the most fitting name.

"Caw!" I called out to Fenrir, proudly showing her my twig arrangement. Now, I could finally hear my name spoken properly.

"What a beautiful name," Fenrir’s voice was sincere, her eyes glistening as her fingers gently traced the twigs.

I was glad she liked the name I had chosen for myself.

Then, she raised an eyebrow. "Well… how do read this?"

I froze, staring at her in disbelief. Seriously? Could she not read, or had I written it wrong?

"What’s with that look?" Fenrir asked, looking puzzled. "Isn’t it normal for someone to be illiterate? It’s way stranger that you, a raven, understand our language and can write so well."

Ah… I understood now.

Reading and writing were fundamental skills for modern people. But in ancient times, literacy wasn’t as widespread. Only a few learned it, while most focused on survival with hunting, farming, and warfare.

Fenrir had just reminded me of that reality.

I felt like banging my head against something. I had completely forgotten the cultural differences between modern and ancient people. And now, I realized just how pointless my effort had been in arranging the twigs.

"Caw… (Damn it!)" I cried out, ruffling my feathers in frustration.

"You’re so adorable, my little raven." Fenrir chuckled, finding my struggle amusing.

I glared at her. Was this what artificial intelligence felt like when dealing with human stupidity?

Suddenly, Fenrir pulled me into a tight embrace. I remained silent, still sulking over my wasted effort as she held me close.

"Don’t worry, for now, I’ll just call you whatever I like until I figure out what you wrote."

Then what’s the point of having a name if you’re just going to call me whatever you want, you foolish master?

"Yep, no problem. At least I have a reference to write your name properly for the next ritual."

Ritual? I tilted my head, looking at her curiously.

Fenrir caught my expression. "Yeah, a ritual to make you fully mine as my pet." She ran her fingers through my feathers with a sweet smile. "I can’t wait to do it."

On the other hand, I could only remain silent at her seriousness. Refusing was no longer an option. Now, I could only resign myself to my fate. At the very least, my life wouldn’t be in danger from her selfishness.