Chapter 373: Romantic Farewell

They all left the office together. Wu and Cedric walked near the back of the group, continuing to giggle, whisper, and wheeze like a pair of mischievous schoolboys, while the Grandmaster marched rigidly at the front, leading the way.

Solomon and Elizabeth walked side-by-side in the middle of the formation. Elizabeth kept shooting nervous, sideways glances at him, while Solomon remained perfectly composed, keeping his silver eyes focused straight ahead.

[M00N: the tension between them right now...]

[GoonLord: Solo Man looks so serious.]

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[Nick: Elizabeth wants to say something.]

Elizabeth finally broke the silence, her voice hesitant. "Are you... are you still angry at me?"

Solomon looked at her, genuinely confused. "Why would I be angry at you? I do not possess that fragile ’royal’ temper that makes people get furious over incredibly small things." He deliberately emphasized the word ’royal’, raising his fingers to make air quotes just to trigger her.

Instead of puffing her cheeks out and getting angry at the blatant provocation, she simply looked down at the marble floor.

"I am truly sorry, Solomon," Elizabeth apologized softly. "I do not know what came over me in the office. I just... I completely lost my mind and my senses when someone else tried to make a life decision for me."

[Brerell: she actually apologized.]

[Ron_Selby: character development!]

[Ferald: Solo Man broke through the royal ego.]

Solomon didn’t say anything in response. He simply watched her troubled expression, his mind racing. ’Is there something troubling her?’ he wondered. ’Is it related to her family back in Bririth? Does she have some kind of deeply rooted trauma regarding her lack of control? Did the royal family force her to do something terrible that she didn’t want to do?’

When they finally reached the bustling plaza of the Astral Terminus, Solomon was surprised to see Marco, Arthur, and Maximus already standing near the primary departure gates.

The Grandmaster glanced at Solomon. "We will go ahead and prepare the portal coordinates. You should come to the gate after you have finished speaking with your friends."

The three older men walked away toward the runic consoles, leaving Solomon and Elizabeth alone with the rest of the squad.

Solomon smiled, genuinely happy to see them. "What are you guys doing here? I didn’t expect a send-off."

"You did not even tell us you were leaving today!" Marco complained, crossing his arms. "You are a terrible friend."

"Yeah, you didn’t say a word," Arthur agreed, pushing his spectacles up his nose. "But your chat is helpful."

"They jumped into our streams and told us you were heading to the terminus, so we rushed over here as fast as we could," Maximus added.

[Foodball: WE GOT YOU SOLO MAN!]

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[LazyCat: chat always delivers.]

[User12: snitching for a good cause.]

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[NewbHunter: squad assembly!]

Solomon chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "It is not like we share many theory classes together anyway. My absence will not make any real difference to your daily schedules. I am just heading back to the Eastern Realms to finish my aura training. There was really no need for all of this."

They spent the next few minutes chatting, exchanging quick jokes, and promising to keep in touch through the academy’s network messaging system. Once the goodbyes were said, Marco, Arthur, and Maximus turned and headed back toward the academic wings to catch their breakfast before the window ended.

Now, only Elizabeth and Solomon remained standing near the bustling gateway.

[GoonLord: EVERYONE SHUT UP IT IS HAPPENING!]

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[James_hayes: THE FINAL GOODBYE!]

[sgtcwby: bro do not fumble this!]

[Mezz_3863: the tension is killing me.]

They both looked at each other in silence. The ambient noise of the terminal seemed to fade away. Elizabeth began fidgeting nervously with the sleeves of her uniform, her red eyes darting across his face.

Suddenly, she stepped forward. She looked into his silver eyes, leaned in close, and wrapped both of her arms tightly around his neck.

Then, she pulled him down and kissed him.

This kiss was entirely different from the frantic, embarrassed peck she had given him in the training courtyard. This was slow, and undeniably romantic.

And this time, instead of standing frozen in shock, Solomon reacted.

He reached out, grabbed her firmly by the waist, pulled her body flush against his, and kissed her back.

[1Fizzy: HE KISSED HER BACK!]

[M00N: I AM SCREAMING!]

[Blood Knight: A warrior claims his prize.]

[GamerGuy: W SOLO MAN!]

[OldTimer: ah, to be young again.]

[Nick: BEST STREAM EVER!]

The kiss lasted for over a minute, completely ignoring the crowds of students and faculty rushing past them in the terminal.

When their lips finally parted, they remained incredibly close, their foreheads resting against each other as they stared deeply into each other’s eyes. Elizabeth’s face was flushed a beautiful shade of crimson, and even Solomon’s cheeks carried a faint, uncharacteristic pink hue.

[Brerell: bro is actually blushing!]

[Ron_Selby: the absolute rizzler.]

[Ferald: perfectly executed.]

Elizabeth smiled softly, her red eyes shining with genuine affection. "Please be careful out there, Solomon. Do not do anything overly reckless, and make sure you come back to me in one piece. I will be waiting for you."

"I will," Solomon promised, his voice a low whisper.

She slowly unwrapped her arms from his neck, took a step back, and turned around. She began walking back toward the academic wings, stubbornly refusing to look over her shoulder because she knew it would hurt too much to watch him leave.

But she simply couldn’t stop herself.

Just before she rounded the corner of the marble corridor, she stopped and cast one final glance back toward the gates. She saw Solomon wave subtly before turning and disappearing behind the massive archways of the terminus.

The moment he was out of sight, the translucent blue interface hovering near his silver owl completely lost its mind.

[GoonLord: BRO IS PLAYING CHESS WHILE WE ARE PLAYING CHECKERS!]

[1Fizzy: wait a minute... is Solo Man avoiding a committed relationship just so he can rizz up multiple princesses without getting in trouble?!]

[James_hayes: bro is building a harem across the realms!]

[sgtcwby: Solomon you player!]

[Mezz_3863: the ultimate mastermind strat. ’I am afraid of love’ = ’I want them all’.]

[M00N: LUNE SHIPPERS ASSEMBLE! WE CANNOT LET ELIZABETH WIN!]

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[Nick: Lune literally kissed him first! She is the main girl!]

[Foodball: Elizabeth just kissed him back! The war has officially begun!]

[Brerell: bro is going to cause a continental war between Bririth and Lumiere over his affection.]

[DaoistAlexkg: the true final boss of this series is navigating his love life.]

Solomon completely ignored the degenerate conspiracy theories flooding his chat. He walked further into the facility, passing through several high-security hallways until he reached the primary departure station.