Luke sighed in relief as he walked out of Toru's room.
If Nyx had been here, she would definitely have made some inappropriate joke.
But he should have expected it, Luke realized. In this life, the students have already suffered a great deal, despite the divergences and stretching of the events. Not only were the nature and power of the Villains becoming stronger, posing a greater danger, but the overarching situation was worsening as well because of Amon, Singularity, and Conformity's presence.
It couldn't change the fact that the students were growing up.
From a natural standpoint, it seemed right for them to act their age, taking an interest in things other than fights, such as romance, relationships, and dating.
Luke had absolutely no interest in being involved with Toru, though.
If he could control himself regarding Momo, then less needed to be said about the other girls.
Taking control of his reactions by thinking all that, Luke let out a breath, nodding to himself.
[… You are boring…] Miss Justice complained.
"…"
As the corners of Luke's mouth twitched, the Room Presentation Contest continued.
Mina's room was just like Hagakure's, with all colors turned darker, gaining a touch of black in them.
Uraraka's room was… simple.
"Nice place, yeah, Midoriya?" Luke asked, winking.
"Oh, yeah… Haha…" Midoriya blushed, smiling wryly, kicking Luke's leg.
Kirishima's room had all the gym equipment, whereas, contrarily, Shoji's room had absolutely nothing but a desk and a mattress.
On the fifth floor, Todoroki opened his room.
"When did you get the time to give the interior a traditional Japanese style look?" Kirishima asked, shocked.
Sero's room was in an Asian-style, with elements from many coastal countries.
Sato's room was in shambles, but he did have a baked pie to share, making all the girls stay in his room the longest.
Asui's room was rather… plain-looking, if they ignored the sheer number of ocean-themed paintings and prints.
By the time Momo's turn came, she had lost all her enthusiasm for this stupid game.
Still, it was a group activity.
So, as Class Representative, it was her duty to play along.
"I… didn't know the sizes of the rooms here," Momo explained, licking her lips and opening the door. "Please… ignore a few things."
When the door fully opened, none could see the few things she had mentioned.
Because the only visible thing was the massive king-size bed, occupying almost the entire room.
Jiro said something in Momo's ear, and the latter's entire face went red, Tsuyu and Uraraka giggling next to them as Toru and Mina threw themselves on the bed, bouncing on it.
Not understanding what was going on, the crowd came out of Momo's bedroom.
Only one room remained now.
"Well… we can skip mine," Luke said. "It's the same as the one you saw at home last year…"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Momo said. Then, clearing her throat, she added, "I mean, it's a part of the contest, right?"
Toru, Midoriya, and others nodded.
Letting out a sigh, Luke took them to his room.
"I am telling you guys, right now," he said, opening the door. "You guys will be disappointed."
But… when the students finally entered Luke's room, disappointment was the last word that came to their minds.
Indescribable shock, gaping mouths, and dumbstruck eyes…
Not only to the other students, but the same expressions also belonged to Luke.
And, it was nothing related to the room's arrangement.
It was related to the presence of a woman, standing in the middle of the bedroom, wearing a sultry costume.
"Ara-Ara…" Midnight licked her lips, looking at Luke. "I told you to return alone… You naughty boy…"
Heads turned toward Luke mechanically.
"Oh, come on!" Luke threw up his hands. "She's lying! What are you doing in my room?!"
Midnight giggled. "Was just checking something," she said playfully, walking toward the open balcony. "It's alright. I will visit… later, when you are alone."
"Please don't do that…" Luke said, sensing gazes stabbing into the back of his head.
It didn't take him much deciphering to learn the reason behind Midnight's presence here. She must be on duty for the dorms' security. One of the guards monitoring the CCTV cameras must have caught Kazuho's figure, forcing them to alert the Pro.
However, that was something Luke had already expected.
If it hadn't been for Trick*Step dressed as a UA student, he would have never let her return alone.
Also, this afternoon, Luke had shared his apprehension regarding the first-year students with Erasure Head, who must have shared it with the rest of the teachers who were in charge of the security of the dorms.
Now, in Midnight's mind, Kazuho was just Luke's fangirl out of her dorm without permission.
Still, to think that his room had already seen two women on the first day of his moving into the dorm… Luke didn't see it as a good sign at all.
"Goodnight, boys!" Midnight winked. "Don't forget to lock the windows and doors."
Then, she jumped off the balcony, giggling to herself.
Sighing to himself, Luke turned around and found every single girl glaring at him, their faces reflecting nothing but blankness. Then, together, they all turned around and walked out of the room.
"What did I do?!" Luke asked loudly.
Next to him, the boys chuckled wryly, Mineta already asking Luke to switch rooms with him.
After a few minutes, everyone gathered on the first floor to cast their votes, choosing a room other than their own.
"Alright, everyone!" Mina shouted five minutes later. "Here are the results of the first Room King, or Queen, competition, minus Bakugo!"
A silence fell over the students.
No matter how stupid the game itself was for a few of them, at this moment, they all were as excited as the person next to them.
"Well…" Luke lampooned, "… we all know who is not winning it."
A laugh bounced among the boys, even Tokoyami ending up chuckling at that.
Among the girls, only Uraraka laughed sheepishly, Momo grinding her teeth next to her.
"With a total of six votes, the overwhelming winner of this super awesome Room Presentation Contest is… HUH?!" Mina looked at the paper chit in her hand, stunned. "… Lu… Luke!"
[See…] Miss Justice said. [Decryption has its limits, too…]
Luke, purely and genuinely shocked, stared at Mina.
Next to him, Mineta, Kaminari, Sero, and Kirishima patted Luke, giving him a thumbs-up for having a woman in his room on the very first night.
Luke then looked at Midoriya and found him laughing as well, making the fifth vote.
However, as if fate itself was trying to prove Miss Justice right, Luke couldn't guess who the sixth person was who had voted for him.
And, as all the girls shouted that the true winner was Sato, not Luke, Momo kept looking away, a small smile hanging on her lips.