The Strongest Onmyoji and the Shikigami With AI are Unparalleled in Another World ~ A Second Life Properly Enjoyed Using Artificial Intelligence ~ - Chapter 47

The ruthless snake woman is crying.

“Don’t cry.”

“I was just feeling sentimental. It’s been almost thirty years for me personally. It’s something I’ve always regretted, so it’s been on my mind.”

“What about the children?”

“They’ll handle things on their own. Our household didn’t collapse just because I died, and I made sure to educate them to prevent that from happening.”

Well, it hasn’t collapsed, that’s for sure.

“Did you really love your husband that much?”

“I just said it earlier, didn’t I? He was the only one who loved me. You know as well as I do, I was despised by everyone. Truly loathed by everyone.”

“Yeah.”

“My parents used to call you an evil old hag.”

“Coming from a nasty fox like her, that’s rich.”

Hey!

Who’s an evil fox?!

“Mother isn’t evil. She just likes to play pranks, but she’s fundamentally kind.”

She’s not human, so her common sense is just a little off.

“Well, I guess she’s that way with her own children. Anyway, enough about old stories. Continuing on, I’ve been working for the family since I was twelve. My siblings were incompetent, and our relatives were idiots, so I thought I’d manage things on my own.”

I can see a glimpse of the hated person…

“Go on.”

“I was a genius, so things went well. I got married at sixteen, had children, too. They weren’t particularly talented, but they weren’t useless either. Just decent, good kids.”

Once again, a glimpse of her true nature…

“Um, you know…”

“I know. But back then, I truly believed it. And then, I realized. The biggest incompetent was myself.”

Enju suddenly chuckles.

“Something happened?”

“You probably wouldn’t know, but there was a rebellion, or rather, a family uproar in the Amagiri household. More like an anti-me movement. Everyone in the family rebelled against me. Of course, including the children.”

So unpopular….

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“We kept it thoroughly hidden. It was no joke.”

Definitely not.

The trust within the family shook.

As nobles, it was fatal.

“And then?”

“I crushed the rebellion. I didn’t resort to purging, but I sent several people to the countryside.”

“Your dictatorship is getting stronger.”

“Actually, it was a dictatorship from the start. But that’s when I finally realized. I may be a genius, but I’m fatally lacking in cooperation and unable to rally people. That means I’m unfit to be the head of the family.”

Well, unfit indeed.

Never heard of someone in the same household rebelling against the head.

And everyone at that.

“How old were you then?”

“Thirty-four, thirty-five, I think.”

Way too late…

“You’re terrible.”

“I know. What’s even worse is realizing that, but at that point, there was nothing I could do.”

“Can’t change your personality now, huh?”

“Yeah. Besides, everything I’ve done so far would go to waste. That’s why I begged my husband for help.”

Troublesome wife.

“Did your husband do something about it?”

“Yeah. He intervened. Since then, I haven’t spoken to anyone in the family at all. In fact, I haven’t even seen their faces. My husband handled all the arrangements.”

I’ll say it again.

A troublesome wife.

“That’s awful.”

“Well, you know, I became much calmer since then. I no longer got annoyed with the incompetent ones, and I no longer got angry. Every day, I only talked to my beloved husband, and it was truly enjoyable. Come to think of it, I only smiled when I was talking to my husband.”

She shouldn’t have been someone to expose to the public. The best thing was to marry her off and keep her away from the house.

“So did you regret it after death?”

“Yeah. I judged others as incompetent and tried to do everything myself. Even though I decided to work hard for the family, I was the one who disregarded them the most. So when I was reborn as the current Layla, I decided to live peacefully this time. This world is full of monsters, and people are in danger. I tried my best to help with my only talent, Onmyoji and combat skills. I didn’t clash with anyone, I didn’t fight with anyone. And as I kept doing that, I became an A-rank.”

She had a change of heart.

“So your motto is freedom…”

“Yeah. I don’t impose anything on clan members, so they’re free to do as they please. If they’re in trouble, I’ll help, and we all cooperate. That’s the kind of clan we are.”

I somehow understand.

During the stampede, even though Annie said she could run away, no one did.

Usually, people would run away.

“But with everyone getting along so well, won’t you struggle to aim higher? Don’t you want to become the world’s best clan?”

“I’m not interested at all. I just want to have fun with my friends.”

Her personality has changed completely…

It must have been really tough to be disliked by her family.

“Do you really dislike being alone that much?”

“My husband was the only one who stayed by my side till the end.”

Harsh…

“What about your children? At least the next clan head should stay by your side. There’s a limit to being heartless.”

“No, it’s not like that. I didn’t want my children to see me in my final moments. I was afraid to show my weakened self after being so arrogant and yelling at everyone as incompetent… That’s why I didn’t even mention that I was sick. In fact, I left a will asking not to hold a funeral.”

I feel like we did have a funeral, but let’s not mention it.

I was too young to remember much anyway.

“You had a lot of issues.”

“That’s right. That’s why we’re here now. It’s fine if you join our clan, but get along well with everyone else. And definitely don’t let things get complicated between men and women.”

It won’t get complicated.

“There’s no way it would get complicated. Master is a specialist, right?”

Hey, little fox.

“That’s true… Well, I have my doubts about that, but if you manage things well, it’s fine.”

“At least, I think Natalia and Alice will be okay. I don’t know about Lily.”

I haven’t met her.

“Lily, huh… Well, with Natalia around, it should be fine.”

I wonder what kind of kid she is?

“By the way, does everyone know that you’re a reincarnate?”

“No, I don’t think so. Even my parents in this world don’t know.”

Seriously…

“You’re not going to tell them?”

“I definitely won’t. If they ask what kind of life I had, I might be disliked for it. The person I told is a human from the same world. Moreover, from the Kisaragi family. No, not human… Half-fox.”

Don’t call me half-fox, you dislikable snake woman.

((“Master, are you going to take over this clan? With this spineless snake, it seems easy to snatch.”))

The smiling AI-chan asks me via telepathy.

((“I don’t need that. I don’t particularly want to make this the world’s best clan or become the world’s best adventurer. I’ll just live casually.”))

((“Understood.”))

Enju… or rather, Layla is loved, and there’s no doubt she’s excellent.

She should be fine leading.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

Seeing us go silent, Layla asks.

“No, it’s nothing. Well, I’m counting on you.”

“Yeah, do your best. But try to be a little more reserved. You seem like you’re going to get a bit noisy.”

“Are you talking about Foxfire or Big Spider-chan?”

“Something like that. It’s pretty low-level to cause a fuss over just Foxfire or familiars… They’re probably just anxious about magic they haven’t seen before. I’ll talk to the district chief.”

She’s speaking her true feelings a bit now, huh?

TL Note: The title of the chapter is an idiom. 三つ子の魂百まで  You could think of it like ‘What is bred in the bone will never come out of the flesh’ or ‘A leopard can’t change it’s spots’.