Episode 4

## A Hero, but Not the Main Character.

* Episode
* Title Card

## Episode Chronology

****"A Hero, but Not the Main Character."**** (勇者以上、主人公未満。, *Yūsha Ijō, Shujinkō Miman.*?) is the fourth episode of the More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers anime series.

## Short Summary

Akari and Jirō learn that there is a rumor saying that Shiori and Minami are getting romantically closer to each other since they are the only pair in A-Rank that have not switched partners. After gym class, Akari encounters Minami in the storage room during cleaning duty where he confirms that he will not be switching with Shiori as long as she is alright with remaining as a pair. This causes Akari to tear up before Minami notices this, holds her face, and asks her to look him in the eye. Unbeknownst to them, Sadaharu spots the two where it appears that they are kissing from his point of view. Meanwhile, Jirō is a having a conversation with Shiori where she confirms that she and Minami are staying together, but hints that if Jirō were to reach A-Rank, then they could potentially become partners. Their conversation is interrupted by Sadaharu, who wanted to inform Jirō on what he saw, but is stopped from doing so with the arrival of Minami and Akari. Upon seeing her, Jirō notes Akari's shamed expression.

Sometime later, Akari calls in sick and decides not to go to school that day. Sadaharu takes this time to tell Jirō that he saw Akari and Minami possibly kissing, but Jirō declares that he is unbothered by it. When he returns home, Jirō sees a sad Akari lying on the couch and watching videos on her phone. After failing to strike up a conversation about her supposed illness, Jirō apologizes to her for not being Minami. Akari does not understand why he is apologizing before he explains to her that he learned that she and Minami had an intimate moment together and it should mean that they should celebrate her progress. Akari laughs and says that he must have been referring to the time that Minami was cleaning dust from her eyes in the gym storage room. In reality, she has made no progress with Minami and she beings to cry. Not wanting to be seen, she begs Jirō to look away. Unsure of what to do, Jirō embraces her not only looking away but also providing her with comfort. Touched by this, Akari continues to cry while be held by her partner. Later that day, Akari starts acting in a better mood as she begins doing more uncharacteristic actions such as wearing Jirō's shirt and sitting closer to him. Jirō says that she should only act like this when she is with Minami but Akari takes note that he is being nervous around her and teases him for it. Akari then asks him if he really thought that she kissed Minami before shockingly revealing that Jirō was the first and only person she had ever kissed.

## Plot

### Prelude

During gym class, Akari is sitting with Natsumi and Sachi in the school's gymnasium, discussing their results regarding the practical from the latest evaluation. Meanwhile, Jirō is sitting with Sadaharu and Shiori is sitting with Mei as everyone watches the boys play basketball. Minami outshining everyone in the sport impresses the girls and Sadaharu but an envious Jirō notices their reactions and becomes depressed. Sadaharu then asks Jirō if he had heard a rumour about Shiori that had been spreading around the school.

### Act 1

At the same time, Sachi informs Akari that there is a rumour that Minami did not want to switch partners despite being A-Rank and that he is getting closer to Shiori. Sachi notes that the practical allowed pairs who switched partners to keep their points as a way to encourage them to have as many partners as possible. Akari takes a disliking to this information, comparing it to a repeated pattern of picking then dropping spouses. She then says that it is fine since it will only be for another month before she gets her chance with Minami. Akari's words cause Sachi and Natsumi to playfully tease her, which results in Akari yelling at them out of frustration. Akari's outburst earns her a scolding from the gym teacher, who had already warned the girls over a previous disruption they had caused just moments before.

Meanwhile, Jirō continues to sulk after hearing the rumour about Minami and Shiori. He imagines himself as a peasant in a fictional fantasy world where Minami is the brave hero who slays a demonic monster. Minami's heroic actions earn him praise from the village and both Akari's and Shiori's admiration while Jirō silently watches from a distance.

After gym class, Shiori catches up to Jirō outside of the gymnasiums entrance where she notices his sad expression. Shiori assumes that he got into another fight with Akari but he denies this. Relieved, Shiori gleefully tells him to be kind to Akari. Unbeknownst to Shiori, she herself was the actual cause of Jirō's stress. Still concerned over the rumour he heard about her, Jirō dismally asks Shiori if she plans to stay by Minami's side forever.

Back in the gymnasium, as punishment for her earlier outburst during gym class, Akari is forced to clean up and put away the equipment used in the storage room. While putting away the volleyball net, she is startled by Minami, who was asked to put away the basketballs in the storage room. Akari accidentally knocks over a box of equipment from the top shelf and Minami saves her before the box could land on her. Akari thanks Minami for saving her before being told by the latter that they should continue cleaning up. Akari notices that her heart is racing from seeing Minami but questions to herself why she needs to feel relieved about it. Akari then suddenly asks Minami if he is planning to stay partnered with Shiori to which he nonchalantly replies that he might if Shiori is alright with it. This response saddens Akari, who begins to silently tear up. Minami notices this and approaches Akari, who tries to pass off the crying as dust getting into her eye. Minami then holds Akari's face in his hands and asks her to look him in the eyes.

Meanwhile, Sadaharu, who is also in the gymnasium, is tasked with closing the gymnasium's windows and he complains that Jirō was supposed to help him with the chore. Noticing that the storage room is open, he checks to see if Jirō is there. He is instead shocked to see Minami and Akari together, who appear to be kissing from his point of view.

Returning to the gymnasium's entrance, Shiori states that she is unsure if she will stay with Minami because the decision to change partners is not hers alone. Jirō apologizes for asking her such a straightforward question but Shiori then hints to him that she might switch partners if he were to make it to A-Rank. Before Jirō can confess to Shiori that he wants to be her partner if they both were to make A-Rank, they are interrupted by Sadaharu who wanted to talk to Jirō regarding what he had just witnessed in the storage room. This greatly irritates Jirō as he then changes his mind about what he was going to tell Shiori. Before he could inform Jirō about he saw, Sadaharu himself is interrupted by the arrival of Minami and Akari, forcing him to delay telling Jirō the truth. As Jirō and Akari lock eyes, Jirō notices her shamed expression while standing next to Minami and silently comments over the uncomfortable atmosphere. Minami hands over the gymnasium's key to Sadaharu and leaves with Shiori. Jirō continues to look at Akari as she walks away from him without saying a word.

### Act 2

Jirō notices that Akari is not in class after overhearing a conversation between Sachi and Natsumi, saying that she went home early because of a cold. Sadaharu, now having a proper chance to tell Jirō about the incident in the gym storage room, subtly hints to him that a kiss occurred. Jirō puts two and two together, now knowing that Akari and Minami possibly kissed. Jirō declares that he is not bothered by it, since he and Akari are not really married after all and half-heartedly congratulates Akari to himself.

Jirō returns home with groceries and sees a somber Akari lying on couch, watching videos on her phone. Although he tries to make conversation with her by asking how she was feeling after learning she was sick, Akari just ignores him. Bemoaned, Jirō sits down next to her and bluntly apologizes to her for not being Minami. Jiro's apology is met with a glare from Akari who then asks him why he suddenly brought up Minami. A slightly intimidated Jirō confesses that he heard that Akari and Minami got closer together in gym class to the point that they kissed. Although Akari attempts to correct him, Jirō is clearly sad about what he had heard and says that they should celebrate her progress. Akari begins to laugh much to Jirō's confusion, as she explains to him that Minami was actually checking her eye for dust and that the two never kissed.

During the misunderstanding, Akari is reminded about how her efforts to get Minami to notice her have not brought them closer together and she silently beings to cry. Jirō is alerted by this and holds her by the shoulders to see her tear-ridden face, to which Akari desperately tells him look away. Jirō hugs her, not only as a way to comfort her, but to also grant her request to not look at her. Touched by this gesture, Akari finally cries to her heart's content while in the arms of her practice husband.

Later that night, Jirō contemplates on what had happened and convinces himself that embracing Akari was something he did out of panic. He also concludes that he has no excuse for embracing Akari, unlike the one time where she fell asleep, and that she would hate being hugged by someone she didn't love. Akari comes out of her shower and shows herself off wearing on of Jirō's shirts since all of her clothes were drying. She then grabs an ice cream from the fridge and sits next to Jirō on the couch to watch TV.

Jirō is flabbergasted on how she is acting considering that she was crying not so long ago. Akari takes note of Jirō's reactions and teasingly asks him if his heart is racing. Jirō denies it but Akari places her head on his chest and playfully calls him out on his lie. Jirō tells Akari that she should only dress like that in front of Minami and that she shouldn't make fun of him for how is acting around her. Akari then asks Jirō if he really thought that she had kissed Minami before telling him that she is not that easy when it comes to getting her affections. As Jirō apologizes to her for thinking that way about her, Akari interrupts him by using her fingers to pretend kiss him on the lips. Akari then confesses to Jirō that he is the first and only person she has ever kissed and that he is the only one that knows about it.

This revelation shocks Jirō and he zones out as Akari then begins to berate and nag him for kissing her like that in the first place. As Jirō continues his thousand yard stare and blocks out Akari's badgering, he silently reminds himself that the kiss was just for the practical yet somehow, learning that he is Akari's first and being the only one to know about it made him happy.

### Post-Credits

Sadaharu breaks the 4th wall by watching himself on TV before turning the remote towards the viewer and shifting the screen to the next episode's title card.

## Characters In Order Of Appearance

* Natsumi Ōhashi
* Sachi Takamiya
* Akari Watanabe
* Sadaharu Kamo
* Jirō Yakuin
* Mei Hamano *(No Lines)*
* Shiori Sakurazaka
* Minami Tenjin
* Takeshita *(Debut, No Lines)*
* Jun Wajiro *(Debut, No Lines)*

## Anime & Manga Differences

* In the anime, Mei appears to be sitting and watching the boy's basketball game with Shiori during gym class. In the manga, she is not present.
* In the manga, Sachi goes into a more detailed explanation on what happens when A-Rank pairs switch partners. In the anime, she only briefly mentions it.
* The anime shows that the reason that Akari was punished with cleanup duty was because of an outburst she caused as a result of Sachi and Natsumi's teasing. This outburst is not shown in the manga.
* Jirō concocting a fictional fantasy world with himself as a peasant and Minami as a hero is exclusive to the anime.
* The anime shows that Minami had startled Akari by calling her name from the storage room's entrance and he had to run to save her from the falling gym equipment that was about to land on her. The manga shows that Minami touched Akari which caused her to startle and that he was close enough to save her from the falling equipment.
* In the anime, Akari goes to the fridge to get herself ice cream after changing into Jirō's shirt. In the manga, she is already eating the ice cream when she revealed that she is wearing his shirt