Chapter 3: A Name Is Merely a Code Name

As the most respected profession in the Netherworld, the title of Grim Reaper sounds exceptionally grand and high-class just by listening to it.

With six insurances and two housing funds, generous welfare packages and excellent treatment, along with an official government position in the Netherworld, it truly is the profession that Netherworld locals break their necks trying to join the most.

Of course, behind the high welfare, the employment difficulty and assessment threshold for a Grim Reaper are extraordinarily high.

Not only do they exclusively recruit students who graduated from specialized training academies, but the content of the assessment is also directly drawn from practical work experience.

[Anyway, the so-called assessment is actually just assigning tasks targeted at three comprehensive indicators for the apprentice Grim Reapers to complete.]

Talking to herself, the little sparrow used her bony wings, which barely had a few feathers on them, to flip through the materials at hand, guessing the task topics for this assessment.

Having mentored so many cohorts of graduating interns—well, that should be what they’re called—the little sparrow had accumulated quite a bit of experience and insight regarding this internship assessment that was jokingly referred to as the beginner tutorial.

[It’s nothing more than three types of tasks: assessing the Grim Reaper’s mobility, the information gathering capability alongside their raven, and finally, their ability to collaborate with other Grim Reapers.]

The exam topics are the same every year, though as a comprehensive assessment, there really aren’t any other suitable topics either.

[Still, isn’t this new kid a bit…]

While still flipping through the files, a somewhat noisy voice beside her caused her to knit her brows… Oh, a skeleton frame like a Bone Sparrow doesn’t have eyebrows anyway.

“Everyone else is a Spirit Raven, so why are you the only Bone Sparrow in this line of work?”

“By the way, are you a male Bone Sparrow or a female Bone Sparrow?”

“Oh! Supposedly, if there are no male Bone Sparrows in a flock, a few of them will convert into females—is that really true?!”

So annoying; a complete problem teenager. Are you the incarnation of a hundred thousand whys? Where do all these questions come from…

Shaking her body, she used her beak to tidy up the tiny pebbles occasionally stuck in the gaps of her bones.

The little sparrow sized up the curious baby in front of her and began to doubt whether her choice was correct.

Di-Lahir—a name that sounded a bit tongue-twistery.

To ensure the smooth rollout of their upcoming work, the little sparrow had still gone out of her way to look up this kid’s file information.

Mm, a pure problem child, whether in the Grim Reaper Academy or in daily life—that was the evaluation the little sparrow made after reading it, as well as the unanimous evaluation from the people around this kid.

“Do you have a name? By the way, wanna go out and grab a bite together later? If I take a Bone Sparrow out the door, what kind of looks do you think everyone will give us?”

[No, bird and human languages aren’t mutually intelligible. I can understand what you’re saying, but you can’t understand what I’m saying.]

Not just Bone Sparrows; Spirit Ravens are the exact same in this regard.

Languages are not mutually intelligible; Grim Reapers and ravens can only foster tacit understanding and emotional sensing through the spiritual link established between partners.

[Isn’t this a basic course at the Grim Reaper Academy? Wasting time babbling away like this, could this kid be… Oh, a pass rate of less than ten percent across all subjects, never mind then.]

To be honest, after reading the file, the little sparrow severely doubted whether this kid had used connections to graduate.

He couldn’t have genuinely gotten extremely lucky and managed to pass every single subject right on the passing line for his graduation exams, right?

Thus, the little sparrow gave up on thinking.

However, if she could lead a dead-last inferior student like this through the exam, wouldn’t that prove her competence at work?

An apprentice Grim Reaper who basically ranked at the bottom in every subject, guided to pass the transition assessment by her—when management sees this later, even if she gets abandoned in the end, maybe she could break protocol and become an official partner?

Thinking of this, the little sparrow was filled with motivation again.

She had never expected to be chosen after the assessment was over anyway; barring any surprises, she was going to be thrown away this time just like before.

“If you don’t answer, I’ll assume by default that you don’t have a name, okay? Let me give you one… How about Finitia? I’ll call you Little Fini.”

Giving such a cute name to a Bone Sparrow… If she were human, the little sparrow would have given this kid a eye-roll at the very least, but since she was a Bone Sparrow, forget it.

“Then I’ll take it that you agree? Little Fini, there’s nothing much to do today, so why don’t we go out and find some fun?”

[As for a name, it doesn’t really matter. You can call me whatever you like.]

Stretching her wings twice, the little sparrow—oh, she should be called Fini at this point—accepted this new name very naturally.

Since languages were not mutually intelligible, she couldn’t protest even if she disliked it, not to mention she didn’t particularly hate it.

After all, a name is merely a code name.

Having brought along so many cohorts of apprentice Grim Reapers, Fini naturally got given a name every single time.

Bone-Bone, Sparrow-Sparrow, Little Skeleton, or even Flower—she had seen all kinds of weird and obscure names.

However, a name this formal was indeed a first, though it still couldn’t change the reality that it was merely an address and a code name.

Although a bit surprised, Fini didn’t take it to heart either.

Anyway, once the assessment ended, the partnership would eight out of ten times be over, so there was no need to care so deeply about such issues.

As for going out for a walk or something, that proposal wasn’t bad either.

Since the assessment details wouldn’t come down for a while anyway, she couldn’t make any progress trying to guess the exam topics here.

And so, Fini hopped onto Di’s shoulder, using action to express her support for his suggestion.

After working in this industry for so many years, before tacit understanding could be built up, actions and body language were the best means of communication.

“Alright! Out the door to find some fun! I heard you’ve been in this line of work for so many years, so why don’t you tell me about some interesting things you’ve run into?”

[Are you an idiot? Even if I said anything, could you understand it? No, why would anyone think of having a verbal conversation with a bird?]

Fini, bursting with a urge to snark, started complaining.

Naturally, Di couldn’t understand the content of the little sparrow’s chirping on his shoulder, and he couldn’t help but knit his brows.

“Uh oh, looks like I really can’t understand what you’re saying…”

[You only realized you couldn’t understand just now?! How on earth were you listening during classes at school?!]

If she weren’t afraid of leaving a bad impression on her new partner, Fini would have pecked his neck a few times directly to express her dissatisfaction… Hm? Wait, would anyone actually have a good impression of a Bone Sparrow anyway?

Still, this kid didn’t show any signs of repulsion either…

Recalling her previous partners, although every one of them actively invited her for the purpose of passing the assessment, their behavior in the beginning still held an unhideable disgust and disdain.

[In the past, I was always the one hopping along behind them. Ones like this who accepted me standing on their shoulder right from the start—I don’t recall there being more than a few?]

After realizing this, Fini’s mood brightened up quite a bit.

Regardless of whether it was act or not, someone who didn’t seem to hate or reject her… Fini extended one wing and lightly patted the back of Di’s neck.

[Kid, don’t shrink back. Just based on your attitude of not disdaining me, I guarantee I’ll get you through your transition assessment!]

“So I really can’t understand what you’re chirping about… Wait?! Why did you suddenly peck me?!”

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