The Account is 'Witch's Husband' #ShortShort

I wish I hadn't found it.
I thought that the moment I saw the profile picture on note. I had a bad feeling the instant I found it. But I couldn't take my eyes off that photo—

◇

When my husband recently started on a creator platform called note, I thought he would get bored of it soon enough. But contrary to my expectations, he has been at it for half a year now. His account (creator name) is 'Witch's Husband.' He doesn't understand anything and probably thinks it's a joke, but I panicked a little when I first heard it. After all, I really am a witch.

That said, my husband doesn't really post anything substantial. He just writes trivial things like 'I want to eat croquettes today' or 'I want to go on a business trip' in about one line, like a diary. Naturally, he has almost no followers. Yet, he follows a lot of people.

So, it was a coincidence that I found an account called 'Screaming Office Lady' that my husband follows. It was during my lunch break at the company where I'm dispatched. I had secretly found my husband's page on my smartphone, and while I was idly scrolling through the people he follows, I happened to find it.

The profile picture for 'Screaming Office Lady' was a beautiful woman. A photo of her smiling with a short bob haircut. It wasn't a face I knew. It might be an AI-generated image.

But I had a bad feeling.

Could he be cheating? It's my rule not to read the inner thoughts of my family, even if I manipulate memories with magic, but is he cheating behind my back? That husband of mine? There's no way he could do something like that...

'What are you looking at?'
A voice suddenly came from the seat next to me. It was Saito-san, a fellow temp worker. She is much older than me, an ordinary woman in her late fifties. We are registered with the same dispatch company and have known each other for a long time. She doesn't know my true identity, but she is one of the few people I can trust.
'It's this person.'
I said, and showed her the profile picture of Screaming Office Lady.

And sure enough—

'What a cute girl,' Saito-san said, squinting her eyes.

But when I read her inner thoughts, they said, 'I wonder what kind of relationship this woman has with Taeko-san... Could it be?'

As I thought, she thinks so too—

◇◇

Lunch break. My colleague Taeko-san has a worried look on her face.

She suddenly showed me a photo of a young woman on her smartphone screen, so at first I thought it was her daughter. But I'm pretty sure Taeko-san's daughter is still in junior high school. The woman in the photo on the screen looks like she's in her twenties no matter how you look at it.

But Taeko-san's expression is a bit dull. Or rather, she has a somewhat scary look on her face. She's wearing dark clothes as usual, so she looks even scarier. I wonder why.

Could it be...

Could it be her husband's mistress or something?

Does that mean the mistress has a blog, and she found that photo?

Surely...

Surely that's it.

Otherwise, there's no way Taeko-san would have a face like that. I've known Taeko-san for a long time, but she's always been dignified and I've never seen her look frightened. If that's the case, then this must be it.

“Taeko-san...”
When I called out to her tentatively, Taeko-san was looking down.
“Is this person... your husband's?”
“...It looks like he's following her.”
Her response was slower than usual. Or rather, she seemed a bit flustered. I don't really understand what 'following' means, but I suppose it means she's an affair partner...

“Um... things must be tough for you.”
I couldn't really ask any more than that. Besides, Taeko-san's face was still scary.

Unable to look her in the face, I shifted my gaze to the smartphone in my hand.

I could see various photos and what looked like articles on the woman's page. Apparently, this woman is a passionate fan of some idol group. The page was packed with photos of girls dressed in flashy costumes singing at a large concert venue, along with supportive articles. They were all pretty girls. Much younger than the woman in the profile picture on this page (the affair partner?).

Oh, I've seen this somewhere before.

These girls, this group, um. What was it again?

Ah, the name won't come to me. Recent idols all have similar names or similar faces. I can't tell them apart at all. I'm really out of the loop with this kind of thing.

While I was thinking about that, Taeko-san suddenly started looking at the articles on the smartphone. She was reading various photos and articles.

As she did, Taeko-san's expression changed rapidly.

“I see...”
Taeko-san muttered.
“Eh?”
“So that's it. It's 'oshi-katsu' (fan activity).”
“What?”

What on earth is she talking about? But Taeko-san's gloomy face from earlier is gone. What happened?

“Thank you. It's thanks to you, Saito-san.”
Suddenly, Taeko-san smiled at me. Behind her black round glasses, her eyes looked a little teary. But she didn't look sad.
“...”
“This looks like a fan blog for the idol group my husband likes.”
“Fan activity?”
“My husband likes a female idol group. Watching live streams, collecting merchandise. Doing fan activities at his age. Oh, my husband thinks I don't know, though.”
“...”
“He was secretly hiding a photo book the other day, too...”
“Then, the woman on this blog is...”
“Probably just a fellow fan, only on the internet...”

Hmm. Is that so.

I feel a bit sorry for Taeko-san, but I'm actually a little disappointed.

But I wonder if that's really true. I mean, look, he's following her and stuff. Taeko-san seems convinced as she says it herself, though.

“There's no mistake. There's no way my husband could have an affair behind my back.”

Oh my, did she hear my inner voice? Still, she trusts her husband so much. Good for you. If I pry any further, I'd feel sorry for her.

Then, Taeko-san pushed up the frame of her black round glasses with her middle finger and said, “Let me treat you to a meal later as a thank you.”

What are you thanking me for?

Huh?

Huh??

What was I talking about again?

Why did Taeko-san show this woman to me again—

But, oh well.

Taeko-san invited me.

A treat?

I see. Well then, the new cafe in front of the station sounds good. I heard they have delicious cake.

Since it's a special occasion, I'll let her treat me. I'm looking forward to it—

◇◇◇

—After finishing today's note post, I closed my laptop.

I recently found a great way to support my favorite idol.

It's an online service called note. I upload lots of photos of my favorite idol and my thoughts on their live streams there. I had an AI create my profile picture, and I named my account 'Screaming Office Lady.' After all, no one treats me seriously in real life.

Then, all sorts of people started looking at my articles.

At work, no one pays attention to me. Even if I talk to the section manager, he doesn't reply, and the new temp lady ignores me... It's like they can't even see me.

It's so exhausting.

But on note, my articles get so many likes. What a wonderful place!

I don't know what kind of people my followers are, but they all share a love for the same idol. That's why everyone's comments are so kind.

Still, the comments from my follower 'Witch's Husband' are interesting. He says his wife always wears black and has round black glasses. She's just like Taeko-san.

I was really disappointed when Taeko-san, who I thought I could rely on, suddenly quit the company and went to another temp assignment...

She was someone who could understand my feelings like a psychic, and she actually talked to me.

Ah, I want to see Taeko-san again. I wonder how she is doing.

Even if I am not human, I never get tired when I am with Taeko-san—

<End>

(From the author)
With this, I have returned to the first story, 'Taeko-san is Busy Again Today.' This is the Taeko the Witch series. I would be happy if you could read my other works as well.