Chapter 282: New Gear

"...How long were you there?" Aria asked, still in shock.

"Since the beginning," Mark replied, amused at his wives’ reactions.

Yuki quickly recovered her composure and tried not to look surprised in the slightest.

"I always knew he was there," she lied, letting out a fake cough.

"No, you didn’t," he replied with a teasing smile.

"Well... I suspected it."

Seeing him, Emilia walked over and, with curiosity, reached out to touch the fabric of the robe he had just pulled off his head.

"Well... so this is where this thing was stored," she murmured, feeling the dark material between her fingers. "I hadn’t seen it in years. I didn’t even remember it existed."

Aria, who by that point had recovered her composure after the embarrassment of being caught mid-paranoia-attack, cleared her throat and tried to salvage some dignity by changing the subject.

"Uh... what do you mean, Emilia?" she asked, turning to look at the queen. "What exactly is that thing?"

"It’s a cloak of invisibility," Emilia replied with a smile. "It belonged to my father."

"Basically it does the same thing Yuki does when she disappears into the shadows," Mark explained, holding the garment out for everyone to see.

That made Yuki raise both eyebrows slightly. It was a minimal gesture, but enough to give away her surprise.

"It doesn’t just make you invisible to sight, it erases sound, scent, everything," he continued, turning toward Yuki with a half smile. "Basically it turns me into a cheap knockoff of you for a while."

"I see... it’s quite interesting that an object could replicate such a complex ability," she said, thoughtful.

Emilia let out a small laugh.

"Now that I remember, my father used to wear this cloak when we played hide-and-seek, when I was a kid," she said with a nostalgic tone. "I’d search the whole palace for him, and he’d just stand right next to me, watching me wander around like a fool."

She frowned at the memory.

"He cheated shamelessly, and on top of that he’d laugh at me."

"Sounds like a good father," Mark commented, amused.

"That doesn’t make him any less of a cheater," Emilia replied, though the smile that escaped her betrayed any reproach.

"Alright, now onto the important part," Mark said, sweeping a hand across the vault. "All this equipment is just sitting here gathering dust, so I want you all to make use of it. Look through as much as you like, and if you find anything that beats what you’re currently using, take it without hesitation."

His gaze settled on two of them in particular.

"Especially you two," he added, turning to Aria and Alice. "Since you’ll be coming with me on the next mission, I want you to take this chance to upgrade your gear."

"Sounds like an excellent idea," Alice said, nodding. "It would be a waste to have all of this stored here with no use."

"Excuse me, Master, but I only see melee combat gear here," Aria cut in, scanning the place with a disappointed look. "There doesn’t seem to be anything useful for a mage like me."

"That’s exactly what I thought at first too," Mark replied. "But I promise you it’s not all armor and steel."

He walked over to one of the tables, picked up a small object, and tossed it to her.

"Here. Take a look at this."

Aria caught it in midair and examined it.

It was a delicate bracelet, made of pale metal, with a small bluish gem set in the center that glowed with a faint light.

"Oh," she said, and her disappointment vanished instantly. "This is pretty."

"Mana regeneration bracelet," Mark explained, looking at Aria. "It slowly restores your reserves over time."

He gestured toward the rest of the vault.

"And from what I saw, there were also rings that let you store pre-cast spells to fire instantly, amulets that reduce casting time, pendants that amplify certain types of magic. You just have to look properly."

Aria slid the bracelet onto her wrist, admiring it with a much livelier smile.

"In that case I think I’m going to have some fun," she said with a smile.

And with that, the real search began.

The four of them scattered throughout the vault, digging through shelves and display cases, trying on pieces, comparing them, discussing their finds among themselves.

Meanwhile, Mark walked over to Yuki, who had stayed near Emilia, somewhat off to the side of all the commotion.

"Hey," he said, looking her up and down approvingly. "You look pretty good in the new outfit."

Yuki looked down at the dark outfit Ely had fought so hard to get her into.

Truth was it suited her wonderfully, fitted in all the right places with that austere elegance that matched her perfectly.

"At first I wasn’t sold on the idea of changing my outfit," Yuki admitted. "But, being honest, this is surprisingly comfortable... it moves well and doesn’t get in the way."

She paused briefly.

"Aria chose better than I expected."

Emilia, who had overheard, let out a laugh.

"I’m sure she’ll love hearing that," the queen said, giving the assassin a pat on the shoulder.

"I’ll keep that in mind," Yuki replied, somewhat embarrassed.

Mark glanced over toward where the others were still absorbed in their search, then looked back at the assassin.

"Are you sure you don’t want to go look through the gear with them?" he asked, somewhat curious. "There might be something there that suits you... never hurts to check."

Yuki gently shook her head.

"No need," she replied calmly. "I trust that if there’s something here that could be useful to me, one of them will find it and give it to me. Just like Ely did with this."

Yuki rested her hand on the hilt of the katana at her side.

There was something about the way she said it, that absolute trust in her companions, that made Mark’s face curve into a small smile.

"I understand."

And, thinking about it, that was entirely normal.

Over time they had learned to look out for one another, to the point where they didn’t even need to say it out loud anymore.

Mark stayed there a moment longer, watching his wives move around the vault, each absorbed in their own thing, amid laughter and comments.

And he couldn’t help feeling a quiet satisfaction at the scene.

He stayed like that for a while, until Aria’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Master!" she called from the other end of the vault. "I’m ready! What do you think?"

Mark turned around.

And for an instant, he was left speechless.

Because the four of them had gathered again in front of him, and they were no longer the same women who had walked into the vault a little while ago.

Each one now wore her new gear, carefully chosen pieces that not only improved her combat capability but seemed tailor-made to bring out the best in each of them.

The result was, simply put, striking.

Mark swept his eyes over all of them, from head to toe, and a slow smile of approval spread across his face.

"Whew," he whistled quietly. "Not bad at all, ladies."