Chapter 17

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

## Summary

Jirō and Akari nervously look at how they ranked in their practical for the month. They are at 13th place, which is not enough to earn them the right to exchange marriage partners. Akari shares that the couple on 5th place started going out the previous month, which meant that they were at a disadvantage because they were up against real couples. Akari accepted that they were going to be paired up for another month. As she's saying this, she ends up calling Jirō "," which catches Jirō off guard.

He takes a bath and continues to think about how Akari addressed him. His mind drifts back to the night of the festival. He never asked what had happened then, but it seems like Akari is no longer dwelling on it. He remembers Akari's annoyed reaction when they found out their practical rank and it makes him wonder why she's still chasing after Minami after crying so much.

Akari suddenly barges inside the bathroom, frantic about a spider in the living room. Although annoyed by the disturbance, Jirō still decides to help Akari get rid of it. She sticks close to him, afraid of the insect, but this only makes Jirō blush who can feel her chest pressed up on his arm. Seeing Akari being fragile and meek makes Jirō think that she's cute.

They're now at the living room and they both say that it's like they're having deja vu (both pertaining to the night they were watching a horror movie when the power suddenly went out). Because of the spider, Akari demands that Jirō stay with her until he catches it. Akari then feels the call of nature and asks Jirō to accompany her while she goes to the toilet. While she's peeing, she has Jirō stay just outside the bathroom door. Afterwards, Jirō also decides to go to the bathroom and Akari waits for him outside.

Akari starts to feel embarrassed at how she's so scared that she asked Jirō to go with her while she pees. She thinks that she knows she can count on him since he probably won't refuse to help her when she asks. She then thinks that she could never ask any of this from Minami, which makes her consider that maybe it's better to just be with Jirō.

Afterwards, they return to the living room. Jirō is eating vanilla ice cream while Akari does her nails. Akari tells Jirō that she also wants some ice cream. He tells her to get some in the fridge, but she opens her mouth, indicating that she wants him to feed her some. Jirō's imagination runs wild but he's able to calm his hormones down. She muses at how Jirō used to prefer chocolate ice cream, but now he's eating vanilla. She thinks that they've become more alike now because of the practical. Jirō notices that Akari's in a good mood so he asks if something good had happened. She says that nothing comes to mind so he doesn't push it, although he can feel that she's pampering him more than usual, but he decides to keep it to himself.

She asks him what would have happened if they met each other before the practical. Jirō admits that he might not have talked to her at all. Akari then says that she'd like to have met him before the practical, but since they don't have anything in common, they wouldn't have gotten close. She brings up the couple in 5th place once more and suggests that maybe they should also try going out. Jirō just stares at her, and she stares back. She breaks the silence by saying that she was just kidding and continues to ramble on about this and that. However, her suggestion lingers in Jirō's head. He doesn't believe that she could have been serious about it, especially when she brought it up so casually, but he wonders what he would have said if she had been serious.

Their peace and quiet is interrupted by the sudden appearance of the spider. Akari screams her head off and starts clinging to Jirō in fright. Meanwhile, Jirō tries to calm himself down because while Akari's clinging to his arm, she inadvertently sits on his hand and gets it in between her legs.

After getting rid of the spider, Jirō gives Akari some bug spray and tells her that she should just use this the next time another bug appears. She flat out says no, saying that she doesn't want to touch a bug even if it's already dead after she'd have sprayed it. Jirō then asks her what she's going to do if her next husband was also afraid of bugs like her. She says she'll be fine whoever that husband may be because she knows that they'll be there if she calls.

Now that the bug is exterminated, they go back to their respective rooms. Akari bids him good night, calling him "My Dear" once again. Jirō's heart skips a beat at the endearment, but he reminds himself that she's probably just manipulating him so his heart shouldn't skip. He tells her cheers for another month of being together and proceeds to his room.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

Jirō Yakuin
Akari Watanabe
Minami Tenjinmentioned
## Chapter Notes

* Jirō and Akari find out that they placed 13th on their monthly rankings for the practical, which means that they have another month of being a married couple.
* Akari enlists the help of Jirō to get rid of a spider in their living room.
* Akari thinks that perhaps it's better to be with Jirō for the practical because things like this were things she could never ask Minami to do.
* Akari jokingly tells Jirō that they should try going out since one of the top five couples were also going out.
* Jirō almost seriously considers this, and wonders what he would have answered Akari had she been serious about the offer.