Ritsuka walked beside Kadoc through the snow-covered streets.
His stream was still running.
The chat had not recovered from the fact that Red Winter was apparently trapped in an eternal winter.
Nor had they recovered from the fact another male student existed.
[Chat]
"Still can't believe it's snowing."
"It's literally summer."
"I refuse to accept this district."
"The other guy is real."
"We found another male."
Kadoc glanced at the phone.
"I feel insulted."
"Why?"
"They're more interested in the weather than me."
Ritsuka looked around.
"To be fair, the weather is weird."
"Fair."
The two continued walking.
Red Winter felt different from the other schools.
Valkyrie felt like a police academy.
Gehenna felt like organized chaos.
Trinity felt like a church that accidentally became a government.
Red Winter?
Red Winter felt like somebody took a country and shrunk it into a school district.
Every building had that heavy northern architecture.
Flags hung from poles.
Large public squares sat between buildings.
Statues stood in the snow.
It felt less like a campus and more like a capital city.
Ritsuka pointed at a building.
"What's that?"
Kadoc looked.
"Student Council."
Ritsuka looked at another.
"And that?"
"Student Council storage."
"And that one?"
"Old Student Council storage."
Ritsuka slowly turned.
"Why does your Student Council need three government buildings?"
Kadoc shrugged.
"Politics."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only answer I have."
Ahead of them, a crowd of students had gathered.
Ritsuka noticed something.
Half the crowd stood on one side.
The other half stood opposite them.
Both groups were holding signs.
Ritsuka stopped.
"Kadoc."
"Yes?"
"Why are there two protests?"
Kadoc looked.
"Oh."
"What does 'oh' mean?"
"They disagree."
"About?"
Kadoc squinted.
"Looks like lunch."
"...Lunch?"
"One side wants more meat."
"The other?"
"More vegetables."
Ritsuka stared.
"That's what they're protesting?"
"Currently."
"Currently?"
"They'll probably find something else after lunch."
The chat exploded.
[Chat]
"CURRENTLY?"
"WHAT DOES CURRENTLY MEAN?"
"THIS SCHOOL RUNS ON POLITICAL INSTABILITY."
"RED WINTER IS A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT."
Kadoc continued walking.
Like this was completely normal.
Ritsuka hurried after him.
"You say these things way too casually."
"I've lived here."
"Fair."
The academy itself eventually came into view.
A massive building stood ahead.
Snow covered the rooftops.
Large banners hung from the walls.
Students entered and exited through the front gates.
Ritsuka looked up.
"...Okay."
Kadoc smirked.
"Okay what?"
"This actually looks impressive."
"It is."
"How many students?"
"A lot."
"Very specific."
"Thank you."
Ritsuka rolled his eyes.
Then noticed something else.
Nobody seemed stressed.
That was strange.
The students argued.
The students protested.
The students apparently overthrew each other every few hours.
Yet everyone seemed... happy.
Like this was all part of daily life.
Like arguing and debating and voting each other out was just another Tuesday.
Which, in Red Winter, it probably was.
Kadoc noticed his expression.
"What?"
"I think your school is insane."
Kadoc nodded.
"That's fair."
"And somehow healthier than Gehenna."
Kadoc paused.
"...Also fair."
The academy doors opened.
Warm air escaped from inside.
Ritsuka immediately sped up.
The cold had finally defeated him.
Kadoc laughed for the first time all morning.
And the chat immediately clipped it.
[Chat]
"HE LAUGHED."
"FIRST KADOC LAUGH."
"STREAM HIGHLIGHT."
"RARE EVENT."
Kadoc saw the messages.
"...I regret everything."
Ritsuka grinned.
"Welcome to streaming."
And together they stepped inside Red Winter Federal Academy.
They continued walking through the academy halls.
Students passed by carrying books, papers, and occasionally protest signs.
Ritsuka had stopped questioning the protest signs.
That felt like the healthier option.
Kadoc glanced at him.
"So, how much of the Angel Nation's geopolitical landscape do you know?"
Ritsuka thought for a moment.
"The schools are governments."
"Correct."
"The districts are less like districts and more like independent nations."
"Also correct."
"The student councils are basically political administrations."
Kadoc nodded.
"And?"
"Their leaders are basically presidents."
"Close enough."
Ritsuka looked pleased with himself.
Kadoc immediately ruined it.
"That's basic information."
Ritsuka sighed.
"Of course it is."
They entered a large library.
Unlike the libraries he'd seen in Trinity, this one looked less religious and more governmental.
Maps covered entire walls.
Historical records filled shelves.
Documents were stacked high enough to qualify as fortifications.
Ritsuka looked around.
"...This feels less like a library and more like an intelligence archive."
Kadoc pointed.
"Because it is."
"Oh."
Kadoc walked over to a large map hanging on the wall.
A map of Kivotos.
Ritsuka immediately noticed how massive it was.
Each academy district occupied enormous territory.
Some were the size of countries.
Others were the size of continents.
The scale was ridiculous.
Kadoc pointed at Trinity.
"Religious and aristocratic influence."
Then Gehenna.
"Industrial and military influence."
Then Millennium.
"Technological influence."
Ritsuka nodded.
That made sense.
Kadoc continued.
"Most people think Kivotos is fourteen schools."
"It isn't?"
"It's fourteen governments pretending to be schools."
Ritsuka blinked.
"That's..."
"Terrifying?"
"A little."
Kadoc nodded.
"Good. It should be."
He pointed at the General Student Council district.
"The GSC acts as the central authority."
"Acts?"
Kadoc smirked.
"Their authority only exists because everyone agrees it exists."
Ritsuka immediately understood.
"Ah."
"Exactly."
"If Trinity, Gehenna, Millennium, and a few others decided to ignore them..."
"The GSC would have a very bad day."
Ritsuka folded his arms.
"So the entire nation functions because everyone collectively agrees not to start a war."
Kadoc looked at him.
"Now you're getting it."
That was somehow more concerning than everything he'd learned before.
Ritsuka looked back at the map.
Then at Kadoc.
"How has nobody started one?"
Kadoc stared at him.
The stare lasted several seconds.
"..."
"..."
"...You met Gehenna and Trinity, right?"
"Fair point."
Kadoc nodded.
"Very fair point."
Ritsuka looked at the map again.
Then remembered something.
"Wait."
"What?"
"Why does Red Winter care so much about politics?"
Kadoc immediately laughed.
Actually laughed.
"Because Red Winter has had more revolutions than some countries."
"You're joking."
"I'm really not."
Ritsuka looked around the library.
Then at the students studying.
Then at the snow outside.
Then back at Kadoc.
"So this school teaches politics."
"Yes."
"Government."
"Yes."
"Economics."
"Yes."
"History."
"Yes."
Ritsuka nodded.
"Okay."
Kadoc waited.
Ritsuka pointed out the window.
"Then why are there three separate student protests happening right now?"
Kadoc looked outside.
A fourth protest had appeared.
"...Practical experience."
The chat immediately lost its mind.
[Chat]
"PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE"
"HE SAID IT WITH A STRAIGHT FACE"
"THIS SCHOOL IS INSANE"
"POLITICAL SCIENCE SPEEDRUN"
Ritsuka looked at the camera.
Then at Kadoc.
Then back at the camera.
"I think I've figured out why this place produces so many politicians."
Outside, someone appeared to be attempting to impeach a snowman.
Kadoc didn't even look.
"That's probably the fifth one today."
At this point, Ritsuka believed him.
Ritsuka looked at Kadoc.
"So why didn't the other schools tell me any of this?"
Kadoc scoffed.
"Because the other schools like pretending politics doesn't exist."
Ritsuka raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Kadoc gestured toward the map.
"Everyone says the same thing."
He put on a mocking voice.
"'We're just students.'"
Then another.
"'We're just a school.'"
Then another.
"'We're just ordinary girls with halos and guns.'"
Ritsuka nodded.
"That is basically what everyone told me."
Kadoc stopped walking and pointed at the map.
"Trinity controls territory larger than some nations."
He pointed elsewhere.
"Millennium controls some of the most advanced technology in Kivotos."
Another point.
"Gehenna has enough military power to give everyone headaches."
Then he pointed at Red Winter.
"And we overthrow our government every few weeks."
"..."
"..."
"That last one isn't helping your argument."
"It absolutely is."
Ritsuka sighed.
Kadoc continued.
"The point is that every academy acts like they're just a school."
"But?"
"They aren't."
He tapped the map again.
"They're governments."
Ritsuka nodded slowly.
"The students are citizens."
"Basically."
"The student councils are administrations."
"Correct."
"The academy leaders are presidents."
"More or less."
Ritsuka thought about all the people he'd met.
Hina.
Nagisa.
Seia.
Rio.
Kanna.
Suddenly a lot of things started making sense.
"...Oh."
Kadoc smirked.
"Exactly."
"No wonder everyone takes their jobs so seriously."
"Now you're getting it."
Ritsuka rubbed his forehead.
"I thought Hina was just running a disciplinary committee."
Kadoc laughed.
"She effectively runs one of Gehenna's most powerful organizations."
"I thought Nagisa was just leading a student club."
Kadoc nearly choked.
"A student club?"
"That's what it looked like!"
"The Tea Party practically governs Trinity!"
Ritsuka stared.
"Okay, when you say it like that—"
"Because that's what it is."
They walked past another section of the library.
Students were reading history books.
Others were studying economics.
One appeared to be reading constitutional law.
Ritsuka pointed.
"Do normal schools teach this much politics?"
Kadoc looked at him.
"No."
"Good."
"Red Winter does."
"Of course it does."
Kadoc folded his arms.
"The difference is we admit it."
"The others don't?"
"They know."
He shrugged.
"They just prefer pretending they're normal."
Ritsuka looked out the window.
A student was giving a speech from atop a snowbank.
Another group appeared to be organizing a vote.
A third group was arguing over a banner.
"..."
Kadoc followed his gaze.
"Oh, they're campaigning."
"For what?"
Kadoc squinted.
"No idea."
"Shouldn't you know?"
"They'll probably change the issue by lunchtime."
Ritsuka believed him.
At this point, he'd seen enough.
He looked back at Kadoc.
"So the entire nation is basically fourteen governments wearing school uniforms."
Kadoc smiled.
"Now you're thinking like a Red Winter student."
Ritsuka immediately pointed at him.
"That sounds like a threat."
"It probably is."
The chat loved every second of it.
[Chat]
"HE'S GETTING THE POLITICS LURE"
"RED WINTER IS REDPILLING HIM"
"HE THOUGHT THEY WERE JUST SCHOOLS"
"BRO DISCOVERED THE SETTING"
Ritsuka sighed.
The worst part?
Kadoc wasn't even being dramatic.
He was just explaining how Kivotos worked.
And somehow that was more terrifying than getting shot at in Valkyrie.
Kadoc looked at Ritsuka.
"Now, I would introduce you to our leader, but..."
He glanced out the window.
The statue was still on fire.
A second flag had somehow appeared.
Someone was giving a speech through a megaphone.
Another group was already booing them.
Kadoc sighed.
"Currently she has been replaced."
Ritsuka stared.
"You're saying that like it's temporary."
"It probably is."
"What?"
"Cherino usually comes back."
"Usually?"
"Usually."
Ritsuka pointed out the window.
"She just got overthrown!"
Kadoc shrugged.
"And?"
"And?!"
The chat was dying.
[Chat]
"AND?"
"HE SAID AND"
"THIS SCHOOL IS INSANE"
"THEY TREAT COUPS LIKE WEATHER"
Kadoc checked his phone.
"Huh."
"What?"
"Cherino's supporters are already organizing a counter-coup."
Ritsuka blinked.
"Already?"
"Pretty fast, actually."
"HOW IS THIS FAST?!"
Kadoc put his phone away.
"Anyway."
"Anyway?!"
"I'll show you the rest of the academy."
Ritsuka looked outside one last time.
A third faction had arrived.
They appeared to be arguing with both sides.
"..."
Kadoc didn't even bother looking.
"Ignore them."
"I don't think I can."
"You'll learn."
The two left the library.
As they walked through the halls, Ritsuka noticed something.
Students weren't panicking.
They weren't even concerned.
A few were discussing the revolution.
Others were eating lunch.
One girl was carrying a stack of books taller than herself.
Life simply continued.
As if a government hadn't just fallen ten minutes ago.
Ritsuka pointed behind him.
"The revolution."
"Yes."
"Nobody cares."
"They care."
Kadoc opened a classroom door.
"They just have homework."
Ritsuka stopped walking.
"You know what?"
"What?"
"That's actually the most realistic thing I've heard all day."
Kadoc nodded.
"Exactly."
The classroom itself looked surprisingly normal.
Desks.
Chairs.
Whiteboard.
Students studying.
Then Ritsuka noticed a framed picture on the wall.
It was Cherino.
He pointed.
"Wait."
"What?"
"Isn't that the leader that just got overthrown?"
Kadoc looked.
"Oh."
A student stood up.
Walked over.
Took the picture down.
Then replaced it with a different picture.
Everyone returned to studying.
Ritsuka watched the entire process.
"..."
"..."
"How many spare portraits do you have?"
The student looked up.
"Twenty-seven."
Ritsuka slowly sat down.
The chat was already clipping everything.
[Chat]
"TWENTY-SEVEN"
"THEY PREPARED FOR THIS"
"THEY HAVE REPLACEMENT LEADER PORTRAITS"
"THIS IS NOT THEIR FIRST TIME"
Kadoc patted him on the shoulder.
"You okay?"
Ritsuka stared into space.
"No."
"Good."
"What do you mean good?"
"It means you're finally experiencing Red Winter properly."
And somehow, that answer made perfect sense. Which was probably the most worrying part.
To be continue
Hope people like this Ch and Give me power stones and enjoy