"There was a power struggle between men and women three decades ago." Zaque started, tapping the table with his middle finger.
"It was so bad that a scientist had to create something to divert the attention of the two genders away from the other. There was a woman who fell in love with a man, but since the war between the two genders was still ongoing— they had no choice except to keep their relationship a secret. That's when a scientist appeared and experimented on the couple who volunteered which created us, the mediators." The red haired man looked at Coco's face to gauge her reaction, but he saw nothing bad except for curiosity.
"I didn't know that mankind tried to fight themselves on the verge of ruin.. Touche. It was like that in my world too, politicians are the ones who kill the citizens and make their life worse than street dogs." Coco commented, still sitting on the floor which was a metre away from Zaque and Heiren, "Anyways, please continue."
Zaque cleared his throat, "Right.. The mediators acted as the peace treaty between two genders. We have the body of a man, but our interiors are similar to both gender which allows us to give birth—"
"So like an omega, alpha, and beta?" Coco interrupted him with sparkling eyes, "I didn't know that they actually existed! Oh my god! I was reading about it just before I finished my thesis, too! Man, what are the odds, huh?"
"Pardon?" Zaque blurted out.
"Ah, it's nothing." She waved her hand dismissively before gesturing for him to continue his lesson.
"Okay.." He cleared his throat again and smiled at her which was a warning for her to stay quiet, "Due to the declining population between men and women, mediators started to take over half of the continent's population. Men refused to bed women and vice versa. Since mediators can give birth to a child no matter who they get partnered with— as long as they are not mediators— they will be able to house a child in their womb. Women lost their ability to give birth so the responsibility fell to mediators since then."
Coco raised her hand like a child waiting for her teacher to call her so Zaque shut his lips and nodded at her. "Does that mean mediators only have the body of men?"
"Fortunately, no. There are female mediators, but they are very rare. I haven't encountered one for years after my mother, she was a mediator and gave birth to me. Female mediators are rare because their survival possibility decreases to ten percent after giving birth unlike male mediators." Zaque stared blankly at Coco, as if analysing her.
"That's brutal.." Coco murmured as she frowned. How can someone's possibility to live go down just like that after giving birth? It's scary to think about, but she can't do anything about it because that's how this world works.
"Over the past decade, the number of men and women dwindled so mediators have no choice, but to get married off. Mediators like us have to deal with their husband's or wife's antics, temper, and decisions in life once they get married." Heiren said with a scoff.
"Men and women will rule over the household while the mediators lower their heads if they don't want to get kicked out. We're also weaker when it comes to strength. Hence, the reason why we can't fight back." Heiren finished the lesson regarding this world.
"That's tragic.." Coco commented under her breath, eyes staring on the floor as she let the information sink in.
"Don't worry too much, Coco! You already promised them their freedom once you paid them back! You said you'll give them jobs and fix this rundown house, right? Don't feel bad!" Lala was quick to comfort the depressed human.
So it's really like Omegaverse, the only difference is that the mediators are the ones that will carry the child no matter the circumstances. Coco sighed deeply and rubbed the back of her head, she could feel a headache coming from the information she had just heard.
"Okay." Coco said and stood up from the floor. She patted the dust off of her pants and nodded her head towards the two, "I learned a lot. Thank you. I know I said that I'll fix this house first, but it seems like it's more important to pay off my debts first. I can't have them going after you guys, I'll try to bring home some food I will get while I'm out so try to lessen your trip outside as much as possible— until I pay off my debt at least."
Zaque and Heiren watched her walk towards the door. Their eyes widened in shock when she took out something from pocket and threw it over to the table. The contents of the bag spilled all over— shining and sparkling gold and silver coins clattered loudly.
"Have that for this week's budget. You guys don't have to think about me." She smiled at them and waved them goodbye, "I'll be back to give you more!"
She closed the door and stretched her arms. She let out a yawn, the sun is up in the sky and is blaring its hotness onto the people around her.
"Well, it looks like we'll go back to the forest, Lala." Coco smiled at the fairy who pouted at her.
"I don't like the fact that they still hate you when you tell them the truth that you're not the old Coco! How unforgiving can they be?!" Lala stomped her small feet in the air as she fumed, Coco could only laugh at her temper tantrum because it's quite an adorable sight to see a fairy like that.
"I can't blame them. They did suffer a lot because of the old Coco." Coco stated, laughing under her breath when Lala smacked her.
"Let's plant lots of fruits, flowers, and vegetables to sell! Let's earn lots of money!"