CHAPTER 834: I ALREADY HAVE EVERYTHING I WANT

Kafka’s brow twitched as a chorus of whining voices rose behind him.

That was the last straw.

He slowly turned, still holding Abigail, and glared at the lot of them.

"Hey. What exactly are you all talking about?"

Everyone froze.

"Why are you acting..." He continued, voice rising. "...like I’m some kind of neglectful, cold-hearted brute who’s never shown you any love?! As if I just stand around scowling all day while you suffer in silence?"

He looked straight at Nina first, eyes narrowing.

"Let’s start with you, Miss Warrior Princess. Remember last month? You were complaining that you couldn’t find that dish you loved here, the one with the spicy sauce and lemon herbs?"

Nina blinked, immediately looking guilty, while Kafka crossed his arms.

"Yeah. I remember spending an entire day traveling across three towns to find the restaurant that made it. I brought it back hot, in a sealed box, just so you could taste it fresh. Do you remember that, or do you have selective amnesia now?"

The others turned toward Nina, who rubbed the back of her neck, laughing awkwardly. "O-Oh...right. Yeah. I remember. Uh, it was delicious, actually."

Kafka snorted. "Thought so."

Then his gaze fell on Camilla. "And you. After watching that movie you love, what was it called? ’The Garden That Bloomed Twice’ or something, you wouldn’t stop crying about how beautiful it was...So what did I do?"

Camilla tried to whistle, pretending she didn’t hear him.

"I HANDWROTE the entire script." Kafka said, stabbing a finger in her direction. "Every line. On a huge canvas sheet. Framed it. Gave it to you as a gift. Took me three days! Is that not enough love for you?"

Camilla stopped whistling. "...It looks very nice above my bed." She muttered sheepishly.

Kafka raised an eyebrow. "Exactly."

Then he turned toward Bella. "And you, little miss mountaineer. Last week, you said you wanted to climb that mountain near the forest, even though I warned you it was too steep."

"But you insisted, so I carried you up and down the mountain, without letting your feet touch the ground once...Does that sound like something a heartless man would do?"

Bella’s wings drooped. "I...mean...no, Daddy. It was really fun..."

He sighed dramatically. "And yet here you all are, acting like I’m the villain in this house."

His gaze softened as it fell on Olivia, who was already looking at him with trembling eyes. "And you...I can’t even yell at you, Mom. You’d start crying before I finish a sentence."

Olivia’s lips wobbled as she tried to smile. "I-I’m sorry..."

Kafka sighed and rubbed his forehead. "No, you’re fine, Mom. Forget it."

He straightened, glaring at the group again.

"Now go ahead. Tell me to my face that I don’t love you...Tell me I don’t cherish you."

Silence.

Every single one of them looked down guiltily. Nina shifted awkwardly. Camilla scratched her cheek. Bella fiddled with her wings. Even Vanitas glanced away, even though she wasn’t involved because of his pressure.

Finally, Camilla cleared her throat and muttered.

"It’s not that we don’t think you love us, Kafka. You treat us like absolute queens, and we’re not denying that. But..."

Kafka squinted. "But what?"

Camilla smiled mischievously, twirling a strand of her hair. "Sometimes, we don’t need the big grand gestures, you know? Sometimes a girl just wants something small. Simple. Like...a princess carry once in a while."

The others immediately nodded in agreement.

"Yeah." Nina said. "Exactly!"

"Right!" Bella chimed in. "A princess carry!"

Even Olivia hesitated, then nodded shyly. "It...does look very comfortable..."

"Damn...No matter what I do, it seems like it will never be enough." Kafka’s expression went flat as he looked at them.

Then, a grin slowly spread across his face.

"Fine. You want me to carry you around?" He rolled his shoulders. "Come on, then. All of you. I’ll give you one."

They all blinked. "...What?"

"Climb up." Kafka said, dead serious. "If that’s what it takes to make you happy, I’ll carry every last one of you...Right now."

Bella laughed nervously. "A-All of us? At the same time?"

"Yup."

"You’ve got to be joking." Nina crossed her arms.

"Not at all." Kafka grinned. "I’m a demigod, remember? You think I can’t handle a few women?"

That line made all of them glance at each other, and then, as if a silent challenge had been issued, they ran at him at once.

Olivia reached first. "Me first!" She cried in a suprisingly assertive manner, leaping forward. Kafka caught her effortlessly, lifting her into a princess carry beside Abigaille, who was still in his other arm. Both women giggled, blushing as they looked at each other.

Then came Nina and Camilla, who immediately started arguing midair.

"It’s my turn!" Nina barked.

"Back off, soldier girl, I’m taking the shoulder seat!" Camilla snapped.

Kafka groaned. "You both have a shoulder, don’t you? Sit on one each before you break my neck."

They obeyed, climbing onto his shoulders like kids, still bickering playfully.

Meanwhile, Bella stood there, wide-eyed, realizing every possible seat was taken. Her lip quivered.

"Daddy...there’s no place left for me..."

"Guess you’ll have to wait your turn, sweetheart." Camilla laughed.

"That’s not fair, Mom!" Bella puffed up her cheeks, nearly teary. "You’re all adults! You’re supposed to give your seats to the children!"

"Alright, don’t cry, Bella." Kafka looked at her fondly before pointing at his head, "There’s still some space...on my head."

She blinked. "O-On your head?!"

He grinned. "You’ve got wings, don’t you? Fly up and balance. I’ll manage."

Her sadness vanished instantly, replaced with excitement. "Really?! Okay!!"

She flared her wings and shot up, landing carefully on top of his head. "I’m up! I’m up!" She giggled, flapping her wings for balance.

The scene was ridiculous.

Abigail and Olivia in his arms.

Nina and Camilla perched on his shoulders.

Bella standing proudly on his head.

Kafka looked like a walking circus tower.

He smiled wryly. "Alright, everyone ready? Hold on tight."

"Wait, what do you mean by—" Nina started.

But before she could finish, Kafka took off, running straight out of the house and into the garden, laughter and shrieks following him.

"Kafkiiiii—slow down!!" Olivia squealed.

"Faster! Faster!" Nina yelled, laughing wildly.

"Wheeee~!!" Bella cheered from above, wings fluttering like banners.

Camilla clung to his hair, cackling. "I can’t believe you’re actually doing this!"

Abigail laughed through tears of joy, holding tightly onto him. "Hehehe! This so much better then any ride in a amusement park, Kafi!"

Behind them, Vanitas watched with a serene smile, her eyes shimmering with maternal pride.

"He’s happy." She murmured softly. "Truly happy."

Even Evangeline, usually unreadable, had the faintest, most peaceful smile on her face.

For a moment, watching Kafka and his mismatched, laughing family spin through the sunlight, she thought to herself:

He was once an orphan with nothing...

...And now he had everything.

—

Right now, the women who’d been laughing and screaming while clinging to Kafka were sprawled out across the sofas of the living room, limbs tangled, cheeks flushed, and hair sticking in every direction.

Even though they were the ones being carried for quite a while, they somehow looked like they’d just run a marathon.

Meanwhile, Kafka stood perfectly fine beside them, not even breaking a sweat.

He brushed imaginary dust from his sleeve, looking far too composed for someone who’d just acted as a living roller coaster.

Across the room, Vanitas stood near the window, her hands clasped behind her back, watching him with a soft, motherly smile. She looked content, peaceful, even, watching her son laugh and play with his family.

And when Kafka’s eyes flicked toward her—her heart skipped.

For a moment, she thought—no, hoped, that he was about to lift her too.

Her pulse quickened, her steps light as she took one careful step forward—

But then Kafka looked away.

Just turned, flatly, as if she weren’t even there.

The smile froze on her lips, the warmth draining into confusion.

’Did I do something wrong?’ She wondered, her fingers curling slightly in her gown, as she hadn’t expected that.

The truth, though, was far from what she imagined.

Kafka had thought about lifting her. The idea flickered briefly in his head...and died almost immediately.

The last time she’d carried him, things had gone disastrously wrong—too much closeness, too many emotions bursting through at once led his mother to attack and pounce on him.

The memory alone made his neck heat up. Not again.

So, he ignored her entirely.

Evangeline, however, had noticed everything. With a small sigh, she leaned closer to Vanitas and whispered softly.

"Don’t take it personally, Lady Vanitas. He’s...being cautious."

Vanitas blinked, realizing what she meant, and her cheeks glowed faintly pink.

Kafka, meanwhile, turned to Abigail, who was happily lounging on the couch, hugging a pillow to her chest.

"You know..." He said, rubbing his temple. "I just remembered something. Those puppies and kittens from earlier—what happened to them? They were everywhere. But now they’re gone. What’s going on? And what was the divine wish you asked for like everyone else?"

Abigail perked up immediately, eyes lighting up like a child showing off a new toy. "Oh, that!" She said cheerfully. "You wanna see something cool?"

Before anyone could ask, she lifted her hand.

In a shimmer of light—poof!—a fluffy golden puppy appeared, tail wagging.

She set it down, waved again—poof!—a kitten appeared, meowing softly.

Within seconds, the floor was crawling with little paws and wagging tails again.

Abigail clapped her hands together proudly.

"Ta-daa~! Isn’t it adorable? Look, Kafka! I can summon them whenever I want! How cool is your mom now, huh?"

Kafka just stared, mouth slightly open.

"Wait. Wait—wait, wait. You’re telling me...you could’ve wished for anything in the world. Literally anything, power, wealth, immortality, and you chose...summoning kittens and puppies?"

"Of course!" Abigail puffed up her chest proudly. "Happiness and family are the most important thing in life, Kafka. And nothing makes me happier than a room full of these little cuties!"

Hearing this, everyone smiled at that. It was so...her.

"Of course you’d wish for that, Abi." Camilla snorted softly, ruffling one of the puppies.

"You’re honestly too pure for this world." Nina nodded in amusement.

Olivia giggled, cuddling a kitten. "That’s just like her. Always caring about joy before anything else."

Abigail then hugged one of the puppies to her chest, smiling tenderly. "I already have everything I need in the world anyway." She said softly, glancing toward Kafka and the others. "I have all of you. My precious family...What more could I want?"

The room went quiet for a moment. Then Camilla and Nina couldn’t hold back anymore and both of them leaned in, hugging her from either side.

"You’re too precious for this world." Camilla said, squeezing her.

"Seriously." Nina added. "You’re like the universe’s last piece of innocence wrapped in human skin."

Even Kafka couldn’t help but laugh softly. "Yeah...only my mom would pick something like that."

But then Abigail blinked, as if remembering something. She held up a finger as she announced,

"Oh! Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not that pure or innocent, you know...I-I’m actually quite naughty!"

Everyone turned to her and immediately gave her a knowing glance.

"Oh, we know you’re not." Camilla grinned. "You’re an absolute demon when you’re in the mood."

"Yeah, it’s like a switch flips in your head." Nina cackled. "I thought I had stamina, but you—"

"Stop! Stop!" Abigail squeaked, turning scarlet. "That’s not what I meant!"

She fidgeted for a moment, then glanced shyly toward Kafka, still cradling the puppy in her arms. Her voice softened.

"What I meant was...I actually had another wish. One that I really wanted. But Vanitas wouldn’t grant it."

"Wouldn’t grant it? Why?" Kafka frowned slightly.

Abigail hesitated, biting her lip. "She said it was the one wish she’d never give to anyone else. That it was hers alone, until she got it herself."

Kafka turned to Vanitas in confusion, only to see her quickly avert her gaze, her composure faltering.

He then looked back at Abigail, curiosity deepening. "And...what was the wish?"

Abigail clutched the puppy tighter, cheeks pink, her voice trembling.

"My wish..." She whispered. "...was to carry your baby, Kafi."

The room froze.

Even the puppies and kittens stopped meowing at how absurd her first wish actually was.