Episode 31

THE FEARSOME LUXURY CRUISE SHIP (MISSION: 31 戦慄の豪華客船) is the thirty-first episode of the SPY x FAMILY TV anime series and the sixth episode of the second season.

Synopsis
After boarding the cruise ship, Yor began her duty as bodyguard to Olka and her son. Meanwhile, Yor's superior, Matthew, finds an assassin who is after Olka and her son.

Summary
In Berlint, Camilla, Millie, and Sharon discuss Yor's work trip on the cruise during their after-work dinner. Millie envies Yor for going and imagines that she is having a fancy dinner as they speak, while Sharon and Camilla are satisfied with their after-work beer and sausages.

On Princess Lorelei, Yor is enjoying a fancy dinner with her City Hall group and the "Grey family." However, Yor and Furseal fidget around, too nervous to taste anything. Matthew McMahon kicks Yor's chair and whispers to her to calm down. He tells her that the enemy is smart enough not to attack in public and that her family is not allowed access to the restaurant on this suite, so she must relax and help sell their cover story.

After dinner, the men head down to the lower deck for more drinks while Yor escorts Olka and Gram back to their room. Olka notes there has not been any sign of trouble the entire day, but Yor warns her that they must keep their guard up as they have no idea of where the enemy is or their plan. Yor then predicts that the enemy will make their move at the last possible minute, which will be the next day. After Yor assures Olka that they will be safe, Olka asks what everyone else will do if they manage to escape safely, and Yor explains their prepared cover story. Olka then asks if Yor will see her family after she completes her mission, as the ship will stop at a resort island on the third day. She suggests that Yor could use it to spend time with her family, but Yor is hesitant.

On the lower deck, Loid and Anya have dinner at a buffet, where Anya feverishly eats an array of food, hungry from playing all day. She then pauses and notes how strange it is to have dinner without Yor. Loid agrees and gets flustered when Anya calls him sappy, then tells Anya to finish her food so they can return to their room.

Nearby, Furseal, Matthew, and the other men walk around after drinking at the bar. Matthew spots a man shadowing them, so he tells the others that he left something at the bar and leaves. The man continues to follow the group, and when he goes to hide in a corner, Matthew is there waiting for him. The assassin tries to attack him, but Matthew restrains the man and breaks his arm, covering his mouth to muffle the scream. Matthew interrogates the assassin, and after breaking his other arm and leg, learns of other assassins working independently to see who can finish the job first. The assassin reveals that he got his intel from an informant who knows Olka's identity and cabin number. Matthew then kills the assassin, disposing of his body into the ocean.

Matthew returns to the group and grabs Furseal to go to their cabin room. On the way there, Matthew fills Furseal in on the situation and since their mission was planned in secrecy, he asks if Zeb contacted anyone, to which he answers that he made a call to his parents before, but says he said nothing important. Matthew brushes it aside to focus on their current predicament, as their enemies had no intention of waiting until the next day.

At Olka's cabin, the women hear a knock on the door, and Yor goes to check through the peephole. She is relieved when she sees that it appears to be room service, but Olka says she did not order anything. Yor hears the click of a gun at the door and quickly moves Olka out of the way from the barrage of gunfire. As the Knockman reloads his gun and attempts to enter the room, his hands are struck by darts, courtesy of Matthew arriving with Zeb. The Knockman focuses his attention on the two men, but Yor hurls her stiletto through the door and pins his head to the wall, killing him.

After retrieving the corpse, Matthew gets the group up to speed and directs Yor to take the group to a vacant room in the second-class suite while he covers up the mess. He warns her that the ship might return to port if there is a public incident and orders her to avoid fighting as much as she can. After receiving masks to disguise themselves, Yor, Olka, Zeb, and Gram leave for the second deck lounge.

Elsewhere, the informant confirms with a group of assassins that "Shaty Grey" is indeed their target, and that she and her guards have begun to change rooms after making contact with the Knockman. Among the group, an assassin takes charge, saying that they should work together if their opposition is from Garden and that they will split the bounty evenly. One of the assassins finds the idea a drag and suggests killing every woman on board with a baby, but he is promptly killed by the assassin, who says they are not psychopaths. After dumping the body into the ocean, the Assassin Leader continues, telling the others not to draw any unnecessary attention, and confirms with the informant that all and any information will be shared.

While walking through the halls, Furseal says the masks make them look conspicuous, and Yor assures him that the second lounge is holding a masquerade ball, where they will blend in. She also notices that they are being followed and discloses this with the others. Yor plans to lose their pursuer before their destination is known, blend into a crowd at the lounge, and try causing a disturbance. Upon arriving at the ball, Yor immediately senses the enemy's bloodlust in the crowd.

Yor remembers that she cannot cause a scene in the crowd and must get through the ball without killing anyone, then grabs a button from Furseal's suit. Nearby, an assassin decides to make his move, rising from his chair. Yor quickly spots him and throws the button at his neck, knocking him unconscious and back to his chair. Another assassin, Andre, is dispatched to kill Olka, but Yor stops him, grabbing his hand. She acts as if she was invited to a dance and takes the man away from Olka, then proceeds to crush his hand and knocks him out. Yor returns to the others, and they head to the shopping promenade to the second-class area.

Anya and Loid are also at the shopping promenade while on their way back to their room, Anya sees a skeleton keychain she wants, but Loid refuses, deeming it invaluable for her education. While Anya throws a tantrum, Loid reflects in how he saw several listening devices, undercover SSS agents, and suspicious individuals across the ship, and concludes that he and Anya must be on their best behavior to avoid unwanted attention. As he sees Anya's tantrum, Loid realizes their conversation is most likely being heard and begins stressing over buying the keychain, overthinking the risks of his choices. Reading her father's mind, Anya starts to feel a little guilty. Suddenly, she overhears the thoughts of hitman Sickle-and-Chain Barnaby, who plans on taking Olka's bounty for himself. As Barnaby walks through the promenade, he sees Yor and her group and decides to kill her first.

Anya realizes that the two will fight, and although Anya knows Yor can likely take care of herself, she fears that Yor will expose her identity to Loid and cause the family to break apart. Meanwhile, Loid decides to buy the keychain for Anya as a memento of their trip, attempting to be a normal and good dad. However, he is shocked when Anya asks who cares and shouts at him to stay back. As Barnaby makes his way to Yor, Anya watches with apprehension. Anya knows Loid will see the battle if he steps outside the shop and will have even more reason to do so if he hears someone scream. Anya makes a wincing face, worried about the situation, and Loid cannot read her expression and is confused. He then makes assumptions about his daughter's mental state, flattering her as she reads his thoughts. He then remembers Sylvia telling him to treat the trip as part of Operation Strix and comes to believe that she anticipated this.

The souvenir shop employee approaches Loid and offers him souvenir apparel, but he refuses to focus on Anya. Anya speaks up and claims that she is being dragged down by Loid for not having fun, so he must be dressed like he is if to resolve this. Persuaded by her words, Loid decides to transform himself inside and out to become the quintessential fun and upbeat father. Loid asks for every article of clothing the shop has and heads into the fitting room to change. Anya gets ready to help Yor but realizes that Loid has already finished getting dressed. However, Loid mulls over reworking the outfit, and Anya is assured that he will be there for a while.

Barnaby crosses paths with Olka, Gram, Zeb, and Yor, and Anya is confused that they are not fighting. Suddenly, Barnaby quickly swings his blade at the group. Yor moves just as quickly, dodging the attack while protecting the others. Barnaby is surprised by her skill while Yor feels the same, not sensing his bloodlust up until the last second. As the assassins prepare to face off, Yor remarks that this opponent is strong.

Anime Notes

 * This episode's key visual is the second of three in a large-scale main visual. This is also marks the second time that an episode visual shares its image with visuals of other episodes, thus making the overall picture.
 * This episode ends partially on Chapter 48, and is currently the first and only episode to do so with a chapter.