Since I couldn’t move anyway, I just lay there while Yoan’s voice murmured softly beside me.
“You always give it your all… Yet it feels like I never live up to expectations.”
Ohhh dear. He was getting all deep and emotional.
This had disaster written all over it.
“You ending up in this state? It’s all because I’m weak.”
Actually? It was nobody’s fault.
Humanity trying to fight zombies was like bringing a baguette to a gunfight. The whole system was rigged.
I wanted to tell him to stop beating himself up, but alas—still a motionless zombie here.
“But I won’t waste time dwelling on the past. What matters is moving forward.”
Finally, there it was. That was the Yoan Keith I knew.
“I’ll take responsibility for you, Sasha.”
Very grateful words and all… but I didn’t really want that much.
A bit of acceptance and sticking together would be more than enough.
“So you need to keep your promise too.”
Promise, huh. What promise had we made again?
I was mentally flipping through my memory files when he continued.
“You said you’d take responsibility for me first.”
...When?
“You told me to trust you.”
Oh. That.
Right, I remembered now. I told him to trust me because I knew the story had a happy ending. That was it.
He was really running wild with his own interpretation, wasn’t he?
“So don’t die. Live for me.”
Well, well…
Where do I even begin to untangle this massive misunderstanding?
***
The next day, my body was miraculously back to normal.
Derek was by far the happiest, fluttering around me like a frantic little nurse.
“Thank goodness! You never sleep, but your eyes were closed for a whole day, and I was so worried. Aren’t you hungry?”
“Starving.” I said this while locking eyes with Rob. I remembered exactly what that man had promised me.
“Why... why are you smiling at me like that? It’s terrifying.”
Rob took a nervous step back.
Just as I was enjoying the look on Rob’s face, Yoan’s voice sounded behind me.
“Sasha.”
I flinched like a guilty child.
All the things he’d said while I was “asleep” came flooding back.
Responsibility. Promises. Trust.
Looking at it purely in terms of word choice, it sounded like we’d exchanged marriage vows or whatnot.
“How’s your body?”
“Fine.”
“Anywhere hurt?”
“Nope.”
“Then let’s have that talk.”
“Ah...”
I gave him my most pitiful, hangry expression. Couldn’t we talk after I ate?
But from the look on his face, that was a no.
“She just recovered! Don’t you know the order of things?” Derek tried to come to my rescue.
I appreciated the effort, but there was no way that was going to sway Yoan.
I placed a dramatic hand on Derek’s shoulder. “I’ll be back.”
Then I trudged after Yoan like a condemned prisoner into his room.
“Sit over here.”
Even though I hadn’t technically done anything wrong, I slunk over and sat like a scolded pup.
But then Yoan pulled off the cloth covering the table... and hallelujah, there was food.
Meat. Glorious, glistening, perfectly-cooked meat.
I nearly drooled.
“Uhh!”
I quickly wiped my mouth on the back of my hand. Still couldn’t control that reflex.
“Let’s eat first, then talk.”
“That okay?”
“Of course.”
Bless him.
I dug in with zero hesitation.
One bite and my mouth exploded with flavor. Juicy, rich, perfectly seasoned—this was food worth dying for.
Bliss’s cooking was nothing short of divine. Her pre-apocalypse restaurant must’ve been legendary.
Where did she even learn to cook like this?
As I vacuumed down meat like a starving animal, I remembered to check on Yoan.
“You hungry?”
“I’m fine.”
“Great!”
Thank goodness. If he’d wanted some, I would’ve had to fight him for it.
There honestly wasn’t enough on the table for me alone.
Three quick plates later, I leaned back, sighing with deep satisfaction.
I’d definitely be stealing Rob’s share later.
“Okay, now tell me.”
“Hm?”
“What exactly is going on here? Sasha, you seem to know something.”
“Ohh.”
So that’s what this was about.
I’d been meaning to tell him at least part of the truth.
The trick was deciding how much to say without outing myself as a zombie fangirl from another life.
Time to play the vague-but-vaguely-convincing card.
My story was pretty complicated, after all.
“Actually… before I met you? I heard something.”
I spoke slowly and carefully, like a student giving an oral presentation with no prep.
“There’s a cure. For zombies.”
“Who told you this?”
“Dunno. Overheard it.”
“Hmm. Go on.”
“First, immune human… exists. Gotta find them… to solve world. I thought that… zombie girl immune. ‘Cause she talks. But… not sure now. Anyway. We need… find them quick.”
“So you’re saying we need to find somebody with antibodies to make a cure and solve this crisis, and you thought that zombie was the one? But it turned out not to be.”
“Exactly.”
“But you said we need to find a human with antibodies. That thing was a zombie. Why did you think it would have antibodies in the first place?”
Ooh… that do be sharp.
I paused for a second before answering. “Crappy hunch.”
“So even you can be wrong sometimes. Antibodies, huh...”
Yoan fell silent, thinking deeply.
Fair enough—antibody carriers weren’t common knowledge yet. It would take time for even the smartest people to catch on.
“One more question. Did you hear why this whole thing started?”
“Not that. But there’s something. No—someone. Just guessing.”
“Someone’s behind this? Did you... hear this from the zombie that attacked you?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
“You mean the zombie that tried to kill you?”
He really hammered that part home, like how could I trust something that tried to eat my face.
And honestly, I didn’t know how to explain it either.
There had to be a reason Aria changed so drastically. I just hadn’t figured it out yet.
If only Yoan knew Aria like I did, this would all be so much easier.
But in the original timeline, Aria wasn’t from this region—she came later. That’s why he didn’t know her at all.
Why did I have to reincarnate before all the main characters met? This is such a pain.
I let out a mental sigh.
“Sasha. I really thought you were going to die.”
“I don’t… die easy.”
Had he forgotten I was the one who protected him?
“Not dying easy doesn’t mean never dying. You know, I had this really healthy dog once. One day it suddenly died in a carriage accident. Of course, it was mostly my fault for not taking proper care of it.”
...Why was he telling me this tragic backstory out of nowhere?
I blinked, at a complete loss.
“Point is that life’s unpredictable. So don’t be reckless.”
“Got it.” I scratched my cheek and nodded sheepishly. “Anyway. We need… to converse.”
“You think that zombie knows why this all happened?”
“Mhm.”
“But what do we do? We failed to capture her alive. I lost my focus back then.”
That was probably my fault. If I hadn’t collapsed, he might’ve had a better shot.
But honestly, Aria was a nightmare opponent even on her best day.
“It’s okay. Another chance… will come.”
“Right. Let’s look for either the mastermind or the humans with antibodies.”
“Yeah!”
I was going to find out why this world went to hell and what happened to Aria. I was going to fix everything.
It was the only way I could survive... No. The way everyone could survive.
At some point, my goal had shifted from just saving myself... to saving all of us.
***
The promised day finally dawned.
As if pre-programmed, everyone was up before sunrise, buzzing with nervous energy.
We gathered around Yoan, forming a loose circle. Tension was high. So was the grim determination.
“W-well, we’re all prepared,” Kira said first, adjusting his slipping glasses and setting down a large bag like it was made of glass.
Rob peeked inside and whistled. “You made all this in such a short time? That’s incredible.”
“Be careful! They’re pressure-sensitive,” Kira started with a timid warning. “If you mess up? Boom. Someone like you would be scattered across the forest in meat-chunk confetti. Heh heh.”
He finished with a full-blown serial killer grin.
Bliss, ever the gentle voice of reason, smacked him sharply on the back.
“There’s a child among us! Say it nicely.”
“Ah! S-sorry.” Kira returned to timid mode instantly, as if someone had hit the reset button.
Grandpa Jeremy, chuckling, laid out his own contribution.
“Went through all the weapons, fixed ’em up. Looked decent enough, but were tougher’n I figured. Upgraded the slingshot ammo too, give it a try. And here, kid, got you a proper bow.”
“...Thank you.”
Derek gave the new bow a quiet smile as he tossed aside the crooked stick he’d been using before. He looked... proud.
Once everything was ready, Yoan took a slow, steady breath.
“This is our first time working as a team. So let’s trust each other, stick to our roles, and watch each other’s backs. That’s the only way we all make it out alive.”
There was something powerful about the way he spoke.
Yoan could be blunt, even frustrating at times.
But when he talked like that... it felt like anything was possible.