"So, you have to put more strength into kneading the dough."

I sat off to the side of the makeshift kitchen, polishing my sword, listening as Liam explained patiently to the tearful heroine how to make bread.

"But my arms are getting tired." Hannah sighed, her face dismal as she stared at the lumpy dough in front of her. "Maybe I'm just too weak?"

"Nonsense!" Liam patted her shoulder, "Just put all the love in your heart into behind your motions. After all, if you don't make this bread, Eric will go hungry!"

"NO, I won't let that happen!" Suddenly invigorated, Hannah pushed the dough with surprising strength. Pausing in her movements, she looked up at Liam. "Is that why you're so good at cooking? Because you put all your love for Boss into it?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Liam's answer surprised me. Trying not to be obvious, I leaned closer, making sure I could hear their every word, staring down at my sword, watching him in the blade's reflection that had been polished to a mirror shine.

"But..."

"You see... if I put my love for your boss into my kneading..." He took a portion of the dough and pushed down on it."

CRACK!

The counter under his hand split down the middle, the bottom of both sides crumpling into the ground

"My love is just too strong." He continued sadly.

What do you mean "my love is too strong"?? Aren't you just ridiculously powerful?

Hannah didn't share my skepticism. "WOW! That's so amazing! I have so much room to improve to reach your standard!"

No one expects you to crack the counter while kneading dough, though.

I did have to admit, her skill and strength did seem to improve with Liam's "motivational talk." As they placed her dough in the oven, Hannah rubbed her hands, wincing slightly.

"I'm so tired and sore."

"WHAT ARE YOU MAKING HER DO?" At Jason's angry shout, I stared up at the ceiling, sighing.

"Do you know how to speak at a normal volume?"

I felt tired. Every time Jason was around, he was unreasonably hostile. I had adjusted better to this new character, no longer feeling overwhelming fear whenever I saw him, but it was still uncomfortable to be shouted at every single time we interacted.

"Hannah is learning how to cook." I tried to keep my voice calm and reasonable.

"Are you trying to make her into your servant?!" Jason stepped closer, a threatening air around him. "Hannah is fine the way she is! She doesn't have to do anything for you!"

"Hannah," I called out. "Are we forcing you to learn how to cook?"

Hannah smiled brightly. "No, Boss! I'm so excited that I get a chance to learn so many things!"

Defeated by the heroine's cheerful aura, Jason stepped back, glaring at me silently.

I'm done with this.I stood up, sheathing my sword with a fluid motion.

"Grow up. You may not like the fact that's she's learning, changing, but it was never up to you. You think you're protecting her by not forcing her to change? We live in the apocalypse! Change is the only way for her to survive! You're only hurting her by keeping her in a safe, useless bubble."

It was the point that stuck out to me the most about this story. With a highly competent male lead and second male lead, why was the heroine such dead weight? At first I had assumed it was lack of motivation on her part, but after interacting with her for even a short amount of time, it was clear that it wasn't the case. I had never met anyone so enthusiastic about improving herself. Which left only one explanation:

Jason and Eric wanted to keep her that way.

Maybe it was a misguided attempt at protecting her. Maybe they found her dependence on them attractive. Either way, it was stopping now.

"You...!" Jason's eyes were bulging, his mouth gaping open in shock.

"She's right." Eric stepped up, his dark eyes studying me carefully. "We were wrong to not help her adapt. I can't protect her all the time, so I appreciate any skills you can teach her to help her survive."

"...thanks." I was really not used to this whole "reasonable male lead" thing.

"I'm going on a patrol, will you come along?" His intense gaze met my own.

"Sure, I'm not very useful when it comes to cooking lessons anyways."

A brief smile flitted across his features at my answer. "Good. Let's go."

Liam waved a flour-coated hand at me. "Come back soon, dear! I'll have dinner ready!"

I raised a hand in reply. Eric chuckled quietly.

"You two have a great relationship, huh?"

What even is our relationship? Minion/Boss? Boyfriend/Girlfriend? Why do I feel like he already married into the family without my knowledge? Unable to express my confused feelings, I answered simply.

"Seems so."

_________________________

We walked the perimeter, taking down several groups of zombies along the way. The more Eric and I worked side by side, the easier it was to cooperate. I would engage the larger group, chopping off limbs and heads, while Eric hung back, shooting any stragglers. Once the surrounding area was cleared, we sat on the hood of a rusted, broken down car, trying to catch our breath.

"I might actually be willing to murder someone just to get a hot shower." I used the cold water in my canteen to clean my hands, groaning with disgust.

Eric threw his head back and laughed whole-heartedly. "I wouldn't blame you. It's amazing what little things I used to take for granted that once lost I would do anythingto get back."

I hesitated at his words. He seemed to be agreeing with me, but... something about his tone seemed off, as if he weren't talking about simple things like showers and microwaves. He was staring down at the ground, and as I looked at him, I couldn't quite see the expression on his face.

There's something off about this world.

I couldn't shake that gut feeling again. I had been to so many worlds, played roles in stories over and over, and characters always stayed true to the story. There was never this uncertainty, this feeling of wrongness.

Ever since I met Liam in the last world... something has changed.The rules aren't the same anymore.

Eric looked back up at me, his expression completely normal. "What's with the weird look? Do I have zombie guts on my face?"

I shook my head with a smile. "Nope. Just wondering what dinner will be when we get back."

He smiled. "Yeah, Hannah will be waiting for me with her first attempt at baking. I shouldn't miss it."

He's completely back in character again. Had I just imagined that wrongness? Maybe I'm just too paranoid given Jason's weird behavior.

"Let's head back."

_________________________

"That will cost 3 ammo boxes." Hannah's voice shook as she tried her best to stare me down.

"I don't like that deal." I shrugged, cleaning my nails with a knife. "How about you give it to me for free, instead?"

"... okay." She whispered, her shoulders drooping.

"NO!"

BAM!

I slammed a hand down on the desk between us, frustrated. "You can't just give in every time I make a demand! It's bargaining! This is just practice, how are you going to do this when it's someone who actually wants to cheat you?"

Hannah shrunk down in her chair. "But... if I say 'no'... isn't that... mean?"

"You need to tap in that inner rage, girl." I sighed. "Use a healthy amount of it and be willing to toughen your skin and get what you and the group needs."

"Rage?"

"Let's try some insults, try to get you riled up: You're useless. "

Hannah smiled and nodded. "I know, but I'm getting better."

"Your cooking could be considered an act of global terrorism."

"It IS pretty bad!"

I shook my head. "How about this: You're so weak that I wouldn't bet on you if you got into a fight with an anemic toddler."

"That's so true!" Instead of being insulted, she simply laughed.

I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

Two hands began rubbing my shoulders, Liam's familiar voice in my ear. "Stay strong."

"But... she's just... so...." Heroine-like. "Pure."

"It's okay, you can do it!"

Let's try a different tactic."I can't believe you're dating Eric. He smells."

Liam's face spasmed as he tried to hold back his laughter. "What is this, kindergarten? Do you really thing she'll..."

BAM!

Before I could react, Hannah had pulled the knife out of my hands and embedded it on the table between us. Her eyes filled with rage, she leaned over and whispered quietly.

"What did you just say? Care to rephrase that, while you still have your health?"

"..."

"..."

Liam and I stared at her in shock, before bursting into cheers and applause.

"That's it! That's the spirit!" I grinned, patting her on the back. "Just keep that rage you just felt in mind when you're negotiating.

Hannah blinked, looking confused. "What do you mean?"

"Think of it this way:" I counted on my fingers as I spoke. "Every trade you make is them trying to take things away that Eric needs. Every agreement helps keep him safer. Every bit of food you can get out of them keeps Eric from going hungry." I paused, looking at her. "Do you want Eric to go hungry?"

Her face was stony. "No!"

"So what are you going to do?"

"KILL THEM!" Hannah grabbed the knife, her eyes bright with excitement.

"..." I sighed. "Dial it back to about a 'seven'. Try for coming out ahead in every negotiation. Everybody can win, but you have to win just a little bit more. Understand?"

"YEAH!"

I looked over at Liam. "I might have done a bad thing."

"It will be okay." He glanced over at Hannah, who was still holding the knife with a bloodthirsty expression. "... probably."

"I don't feel reassured."

"She might tear the next negotiator's throat out... but at least she won't be giving away any supplies."

"True."

"Alright then, you guys have fun, I have work to do!"

Surprised, I glanced over at Liam. "Still with the secret project?" Over the last few weeks as we had been training Hannah he had been disappearing more and more. At first, I thought it had to do with the Blood Wolves, but as time went on I couldn't help but grow more curious.

Liam didn't answer, just giving me a mysterious smile before walking away.

I turned back to Hannah. "Alright, while you still have such a good mindset, let's move on to the next topic, how to escape after you've been tied up."

_________________________

A few hours later I headed back towards my tent, rubbing my sore wrists. Hannah made surprisingly good progress today.I pulled out my phone, clicking on the mission progress screen. Hannah's mission was now at 86%.

I felt a surge of relief, we were on the right track. Although it was frustrating to see the "help the humans establish a good foundation" mission was still only at 13%.

How long am I going to be in this world for?I put away my phone, feeling a strange mix of confusion and relief. I wasn't sure how to help humanity... but at the thought of spending more time with Liam, it was hard to be too upset about it.

"Blaire, I won't let you get away with this." Jason stood in my path, his face drawn back in a sneer. I threw up my hands, feeling frustrated.

"Seriously, dude? Do you not have any hobbies?"

He stepped forward, a light in his eyes. "I don't know who you are... I don't know WHAT you are... but you aren't Blaire."

My heart stopped for a brief moment, and then beat rapidly in my chest. It was true that the original character was a spoiled brat without many useful skills, and I hadn't really been pretending... but how would he know? Even if they knew each other in high school, they shouldn't have been that close? "I don't know what you're on, but I'm Blaire."

What's going on? Before he had been hostile, but that could be explained away with his overprotectiveness of Hannah and his perception of Blaire as a useless person. But now...

Now he looks like someone who knows too much.

"You might think you're so clever... but you won't win. This is your last warning." He smiled, the expression causing the hairs on the back of my neck to rise. "Stop trying to change Hannah. Stop interfering with our lives. Or you'll regret it."

I didn't back down. "I'm helping Hannah, whether you believe it or not, whether you LIKE it or not."

"So be it." Laughing quietly, he walked away, leaving me shivering in the wind.

What am I missing?I checked the character page on my phone again. Jason's information was unchanged. I entered my tent, slumping to the ground, my head in my hands.

I felt a deep sense of unease, as if something terrible was about to happen.

I just couldn't figure out what.