Chapter 16

This is the fourth chapter of the third volume and the sixteenth chapter overall of the More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers manga series written by Yūki Kanamaru.

## Summary

Akari sees Minami walking side by side with Shiori at the festival. Sachi and Natsumi return from buying some food and notice that she doesn't look so good. She makes an excuse, saying that her yukata must have been tied too tight, so she doesn't feel well. Natsumi suggests that she call it a night, since Minami wasn't in attendance anyway.

Meanwhile, Minami apologizes to Shiori for going through the park where the festival was being held. They were walking together but ultimately went on separate ways, with Minami going to work, while Shiori went to the grocery store to buy their groceries. As Shiori is making her way to the store, she notes that the flower festival was beautiful and wonders if Jirō went to those kinds of events.

At home, Jirō is on the balcony thinking about what Akari and Minami must be doing at the festival. He wonders if they've already kissed, or perhaps held hands, or embraced each other while kissing. These were things that he's already done with Akari. He asks himself if Minami would be her boyfriend instead of him, despite being the first to do those things with her. He continues to ask himself what would become of him if they ever changed partners for the practical. He wonders if he'd be her friend, a classmate, or if he'd simply be erased from her life without a trace.

He quickly stops himself from thinking about those things. Not a moment later, his phone rings with Akari on the other line, crying. He rushes out to find her. As he's leaving the apartment, he sees Akari hunched down just outside their door. Akari apologizes to Jirō for going home early and for making his efforts to help her with her yukata go to waste. Jirō crouches down, gently wipes her tears, and welcomes her back home. Akari weakly sinks into Jirō's chest and sobs in his arms.

A while later, Jirō and Akari are on their balcony watching the fireworks from the festival. Akari shares that Sachi and Natsumi complimented her yukata and that she's glad she wore it. She asks him if he likes how she looks, especially when he was the one who dressed her up. His heart starts to race as he answers that he prefers her with the ribbon he wanted to tie earlier that she didn't like.

Akari grabs his hands to turn him towards her, and Jirō half-heartedly resists. She places his hands on her waist and tells him to tie her obi in the ribbon that he wanted. She turns around and Jirō undoes her obi to fix it into a ribbon. He's having trouble following the video and comes closer to the phone that Akari is holding which is playing the instructions. The phone slips from Akari's hand and Jirō quickly grabs it. His arms end up wrapped around Akari's waist, with him giving her a back hug.

Jirō apologizes for suddenly hugging her and tries to let go. However, Akari tightens her grip on his arms. She then asks him to say her first name so she can feel better. Jirō repeatedly calls out her name as he tightens his hug on Akari. Suddenly, fireworks start to fill the night sky once again. Akari exclaims at how pretty they are. Still in a hug and both blushing, Akari thanks Jirō for not asking what had happened earlier. In his mind, Jirō admits that he didn't ask what had happened because he didn't want to know. He wishes for the best between her and Minami, but when he heard Akari crying and when he found out that she had come back home, he actually felt relieved and wondered why it was so.

While they continue to watch the fireworks display, Jirō thinks about how even though they're supposed to be "married" and "sworn to be together until death," this is probably be the first and the last time they'll ever spend watching these dazzling lights in each other's arms.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

Akari Watanabe
Shiori Sakurazaka
Minami Tenjin
Natsumi Ōhashi
Sachi Takamiya
Jirō Yakuin
## Chapter Notes

* It is revealed that Minami and Shiori were not on a date at the festival but were just passing through together to get to their respective destinations―Minami to work and Shiori to the grocery store.
* Akari calls Jirō in tears and Jirō rushes out to look for her. He finds her outside their apartment and welcomes her home.
* Jirō and Akari are on their apartment's balcony. Akari asks Jirō to call out her name to make her feel better.
* As Jirō is saying her name over and over again, fireworks light up the sky. Akari thanks him for not asking what had happened.
* Jirō says to himself that he didn't ask because he didn't want to know what happened. He wonders why he felt relieved when Akari called him and came back home.