God of Milfs: The Gods Request Me To Make a Milf Harem

Vanitas noticed Kafka's thoughts immediately.

A small, knowing smile curved her lips as she stepped forward, her eyes soft with warmth.

"You don't need to feel guilty about any of it, Kafka." She said gently. "Don't trouble yourself with my pain...I deserved it. Every last punishment, every scar, it was mine to bear."

"If I had never abandoned you in the first place, none of this would have happened. I was the one who threw away my responsibilities, who chose pride over my son. So, it was only natural that I would renew those responsibilities...and watch over you no matter what."

She let out a small, almost playful laugh, her smile growing brighter.

"And, in the end, it actually worked out for me."

Kafka blinked, startled. "Worked out...for you?"

"Yes." Her gaze softened, shimmering with something like secret joy. "Because all those excuses about protecting you, making sure you were safe, gave me something I came to love more than anything else in my life."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" He tilted his head, confusion flickering in his eyes.

Vanitas looked at him with a satisfied expression, her voice tender as she spoke each word.

"It meant I got to watch you, Kafka. Watch you grow. From the tiny, helpless baby you once were...to the man standing before me now."

"That excuse gave me the right to keep my eyes on you every single day, and that made me happier than you could ever imagine."

Kafka's breath caught. His eyes widened, his face going red. "Wait, hold on. You mean to say...you didn't just watch me as a baby. You watched me...all this time? Even when I was grown?"

"Of course." Vanitas nodded without hesitation, pride shining in her smile. "That was the only way I could have a connection with you. I couldn't step into the mortal world, I couldn't hold you in my arms, but through my eyes, I was always with you."

"No matter what you were doing, eating, walking, sleeping, crying, laughing, I was there, watching...And do you know something?"

She let out a soft laugh, her voice trembling with sincerity.

"It was the happiest I have ever been since the day I was appointed by the heavens as a True God. Happier than any worship, any achievement, any praise. Just...watching you." She pressed a hand to her lips, a small giggle escaping her as her eyes lit with memory. "And not to mention, there were so many moments, Kafka. So many times I couldn't help but laugh at you."

"Like the time you tried to steal extra food at the orphanage and hid it under your shirt, only to trip and spill it everywhere in front of the caretakers. Or the time you fought with that older boy who was twice your size in the playground, shouting that you'd protect the other kids, even though you could barely throw a punch."

Kafka's face flushed deep red, his hand shooting up to cover his eyes. "Y-You saw even that?!"

"Every single bit of it." Vanitas's laughter was soft, almost motherly, yet tinged with mischief. "I laughed so hard that day I nearly fell off my throne...And do you know what? Even in your weakest moments, even in your clumsiest mistakes...I was proud. So proud. Because I could see the man you were becoming, even then."

Kafka's lips tightened, his blush refusing to fade. Embarrassment burned hot in his veins, but beneath it was something else, something that left his throat aching and his heart heavy.

Love.

He didn't want to admit it, but it was there.

But just as he was getting overwhelmed by emotion...a terrible realization struck him.

Wait.

His face suddenly turned a few shades redder. He blinked, looked up at Vanitas, and, with a flustered grimace, blurted.

"Wait a second...If you've been watching me all this time, every moment of my life, then that means...you saw everything?"

"Everything?" Vanitas tilted her head, blinking innocently.

He cleared his throat. "Like...everything everything. Even when I was, when I was using the toilet? When I was peeing or..." He cringed. "...pooping?"

"Of course." She chuckled. "After all, as baby I saw your diaper being changed hundreds of times?" She smiled brightly. "I got used to it."

"Oh god…"

Kafka buried his face in his hands, while Vanitas grinned playfully, stepping closer.

"And not only when you were a baby, but even as you grew up as well, so that means...I know you how you always sing when you were on the toilet."

"How when things were going well, you'd hum this weird little melody with this soft rhythm. But when you were...struggling, let's say, the melody turned into this long, tragic ballad. I called it your 'toilet requiem.' It was very moving."

Kafka gasped in horror. "Wha—you—YOU WATCHED THAT TOO?! Can a man have no privacy?!"

She laughed softly into her hand. But then, something even worse came to him.

His face went pale. His voice dropped. "Wait...if you watched everything...then…" He swallowed hard, his voice sharp. "During my middle school years...when I was doing something private in my room, something that every pubescent boy does…"

Vanitas' smile froze. Her eyes darted away. She blushed.

Kafka's jaw dropped. "No. No, no, don't tell me, YOU SAW THAT TOO?!"

She raised a hand slowly, her face guilty. "I...I didn't mean to! I swear! But just in case something ever happened to you in those moments, like an ambush or the building burning down—I had to be watching. For safety!"

"Oh my god. My dignity. My dignity is gone." Kafka groaned, covering his face again as he dropped to his knees. "Every son fears the moment their parents walk in while they're...you know."

"But my mother wasn't just peeking in, she was watching from another realm! I had a divine surveillance camera on me the whole time?! Someone tell me this is a nightmare!"

Evangeline, watching this, tried to suppress a giggle but failed miserably, laughter spilling from her lips.

Kafka then shot Vanitas a wounded glare, his face still bright red. Then he straightened, huffing, and said sternly, "Okay. Okay, we're leaving that for now. We will talk about this later, believe me...But for now, I need to know something else."

He exhaled, his expression turning serious.

"You've been watching me all this time...but you never stepped into my life. You never interfered directly, not that you didn't want to, but because you couldn't...So why now? Why descend into the mortal realm? Why all the sudden crazy suicidal stuff? What made you want go through something as dangerous as ascension just to see me?"

Vanitas' smile faded. A somber stillness fell over her face, though a small warmth remained.

"It's true, what you said." She said softly. "All I ever really wanted was to be with you. To stay by your side. To hold you again, apologize, tell you the truth, everything...But I couldn't. I'm forbidden from entering the mortal realm."

She sighed.

"So I made peace with it. I stayed in the heavens, watching you from afar. And I was...content. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough."

"But then..." She said, her tone shifting, light, bright. "Word came to me. You were to undergo a divine trial. A real chance to ascend. A real chance to come here, to the heavens. And Kafka…"

She smiled, eyes shining.

"I was so excited. I couldn't stop smiling for days. I jumped around the temple like a child. I laughed and cried all at once. I didn't care what you'd think of me—if you hated me, if you never forgave me—I just wanted to see you with my own eyes again. Stand beside you. Be with you."

Her smile then dimmed, her voice dipping lower.

"But...I wasn't the only one who heard the news."

Kafka's eyes narrowed, while Vanitas continued.

"You see, over the eons, I've made...a lot of enemies among the other gods. Not just rivals—enemies. My pride, my defiance, my refusal to ever kneel or show weakness, it humiliated them. They never had the chance to strike back. I never gave them one."

Her hands clenched slightly at her sides.

"But then...you appeared. You, the only weakness I ever had. My beloved son. My mortal child, unguarded, unprepared, entering their domain." She met his eyes. "And as tradition allows, gods may observe and even influence parts of a trial."

Kafka's blood ran cold.

"And I knew..." Vanitas whispered. "...if any of them wanted revenge...they would use you."

"They'd assign you a challenge not to test you, but to break you. Just like they've done to others before in the distant past...Quiet sabotage. Untraceable manipulation. Trials laced with impossibility."

Her voice trembled.

"So I had no choice. I had to pretend. Act aloof. Distant. Arrogant. Like I didn't care. Like you were a shame to me. That's why...Evangeline told you those lies. Told you that I had cast you away, that I didn't think you were worth saving even when you asked her during the trials."

Kafka turned slowly toward Evangeline, who stood nearby, solemn.

"You knew?" He asked. "You knew all along that she cared?"

"I did." Evangeline nodded gently. "And I hated lying to you, Kafka. But it was necessary. If the other gods saw even a crack in the mask Vanitas wore...they would have torn both of you apart. We couldn't risk it, especially since I was in charge of maintaining the fairness of the trial, so I had to lie."

Vanitas stepped forward, placing her hand over her heart.

"I hid it all. I let them believe I was cold, cruel, uncaring. But the truth is…" Her eyes shimmered. "I've never loved anything more than you. And I was terrified they'd take you away from me before I ever got the chance to say it."

Kafka took in a deep breath, as her words rolled over him like waves, and for a moment he couldn't even breathe.

All his life he'd believed he was cursed, abandoned, unwanted. All his life he'd nursed that hollow ache.

Yet here she was, again, shattering every belief he'd held...Protecting him, again and again.

Yes, she had done wrong once.

Yes, she had cast him aside.

But she had also proved herself, over and over, to be a mother who would bleed, burn, and suffer for her son.

The old feeling of abandonment was slipping away, being replaced by the dawning realization of how deeply she had loved him all along…