Imperial Scholars Mixer Arc

Note that the arc title and following sub-headings are fan-made and used to better organize the story.

The Imperial Scholars Mixer Arc is the ninth story arc in SPY x FAMILY.

With the biannual Imperial Scholars Mixer coming up, Damian sees a rare opportunity to meet with his reclusive and distant father. However, Twilight also has his own plans to intrude on their meeting.

Shopping with Friends
The Imperial Scholars' semi-annual get-together starts next week, and Damian, Emile, and Ewen eagerly discuss how they will one day become Imperial Scholars and join the event. Peering from the corner, Anya watches the group. While her goal is also to become an Imperial Scholar to help Loid with Operation Strix, Anya has given up on earning eight Stella Stars, discouraged by her lack of progress in academics and sports. Anya resolves to Plan B: befriending Damian, which is not going any better.

Anya expresses her frustration and Becky does the same, assuming that Anya is trying to get closer to Damian for romantic reasons and decides to help her out. She says that boys are easily fooled by outward appearances, so if Anya dresses up all cute, Damian will surely fall for her. Thus, Becky and Anya go on a shopping trip on the weekend. Becky's butler, Martha, drives the girls to the department store, which Becky has reserved just for her and Anya. Anya tries on a variety of stylish outfits, looking for the outfit that Damian will like. After telling Anya that they can dress casually at a party at the end of the term, Becky also tries on outfits after realizing that Loid might attend.

In the end, neither girl can decide what outfit is the best, and Becky buys all of her clothes, shocking Anya. After checking out all the other accessories at the store, they stop at a café to rest. Becky notices that Anya did not get anything, with Anya saying she had a difficult time choosing something. Becky worries that Anya did not have fun shopping with her, but Anya says she did since this is the first time she has gone shopping with a friend. Becky is touched to be called a friend and decides to find something Anya wants.

A sheep keychain catches Anya's attention, and she says that they should get one as a memento of their shopping trip. Becky is hesitant, remembering her father saying he does not want her wearing anything less than the finest. However, Anya buys keychains for the both of them anyway, and Martha advises her to accept the gesture of friendship, saying her father would say the same. An embarrassed Becky accepts the gift, and the girls head home.

Becky and Anya fall asleep on the drive back, and Martha flashes back to the past. Before attending Eden Academy, Becky believed that she was wiser and more mature than her peers, leading her to have a conceited attitude toward those around her. Martha would later lecture Becky that understanding that you do not have it all figured out is the first step to growing up. After returning from her first day at Eden, Becky told Martha about Anya and how the school might not be so bad after all. In the present, Martha looks at Becky and Anya and expresses her happiness for her madam.

Returning home, Loid is stunned to see the expensive keychain. Anya says it is her and Becky's special thing while Bond glares at the keychain. Returning to school, Becky and Anya greet each other and cheerily talk about their matching keychains. Passing by, Damian and his friends see the girls chatting, and their smiling faces catch Damian's eye. Ewen asks Damian what is up with him, and he dismisses them in embarrassment.

The Imperial Scholars Mixer
On the day of the Imperial Scholars mixer, Loid once again infiltrates Eden Academy, this time as a professor. With Ostania's top brass in attendance, security has tightened with agents and the military on guard. Loid remarks how difficult it is to infiltrate the Imperial Scholars mixer, citing past failed attempts by other agents. The event is being held at the "Tower of Wisdom," which not only has few possible entrances, but even tighter security with state-of-the-art technology. With his options thin, Twilight decides to encounter Donovan as "Loid Forger". He concludes that while opportunities to meet Donovan outside the tower are virtually nonexistent, he should try to explore those possibilities.

Elsewhere, Cecile Hall finishes class early for the Imperial Scholars event. As the students gossip about the mixer and who will be attending, two girls ask Damian if his dad will be there since his brother Demetrius is an Imperial Scholar. Damian does not hear them, thinking back to a phone call with Demetrius. Damian asked his brother to deliver a message to Donovan: to meet with him in the courtyard at Library 2 after the mixer. Demetrius agrees but tells Damian not to get his hopes up, as their father is a busy man, before ending the call.

In the present, the girls continue to ask to meet with Donovan, and Damian angrily tells them to leave him alone and stomps away with his friends in tow. Reading his thoughts, Anya realizes Damian's plan and decides to tail him and face Donovan herself. The boys have already noticed Anya stalking them and tell her to go away. Ewen suggests there is a reason why Anya has been chasing Damian, and the boy reddens up, assuming romantic reasons. Ewen elaborates that Anya might be chasing him to gain favor with Donovan, and Emile agrees, saying Anya is the same as all the others. Embarrassed and enraged, Damian calls Anya names before running away.

Anya hears Loid's thoughts, expressing frustration at how the two are not getting along. Loid decides to follow Damian if he tries to meet with Donovan and goes after him. Hearing her father's plan, Anya does the same with Becky in tow. Heading to the courtyard, the boys discuss Damian's plan to meet with his father and decide to check out the mixer for themselves. At the Tower of Wisdom, Imperial Scholars and their families walk through the school grounds, heading to the event. The boys are amazed at how many people there are, and Emile comments that even among all the famous people present, Donovan is a VIP, which makes Damian freeze up. He decides not to see Donovan, reasoning that he is an incredible and busy man who does not have time to waste on people like him. Before he can inform his brother, he is stopped in his tracks by Anya.

Anya knows that Damian is afraid that Donovan will find out about his low grade on his reading test and tells him that because she loves her father, she will use all her courage to tell him that she failed, despite her poor grade. While everyone, including Anya, is confused by what she said, it convinces Damian to go through with meeting his father. In the courtyard, the kids wait for the mixer to end. Becky is surprised Anya is also waiting and assumes Anya is eager to meet Damian's parents and look for their blessing to marry, misreading her seriousness. However, Anya falls asleep shortly after, and Becky has Martha take her back to their car as they leave. On their way out, they pass by the disguised Loid, who reveals a handmade duplicate of Anya's expensive sheep keychain. With everything set, Loid puts his plan into motion.

Loid plants the keychain in the courtyard for the boys to find, then continues to observe the mixer from the outside until Donovans leave, then goes to make his move. Loid appears before Damian and his friends and asks if they have seen the keychain, which Damian gives him. The boys realize they are talking to Anya's father, and Loid makes a formal apology to Damian for Anya's behavior at the orientation and hopes to do the same with his parents. At that moment, Donovan arrives. Damian is surprised his father showed up, while Loid internally apologizes to Damian for needing to crash his family reunion. Loid is given the chance to speak to Donovan, prompting him to apologize for Anya's behavior towards Damian and introduce himself.

At a WISE safehouse, a rookie agent reviews a file containing attendees to the Imperial Scholars mixer, including Donovan. Seeing how the mixer is a treasure trove of intelligence, he suggests sending more agents to back up Twilight. Sylvia Sherwood advises otherwise, saying it would be giving their enemy easy prey. She reminds the young man that they are in enemy territory and Eden Academy is the front line of this cold war.

Returning to Eden Academy, Loid thinks about his investigations of any media regarding Donovan. In it, he was unable to learn much about the man since his disappearance from the public eye. With this conversation, Loid must learn more about Donovan, his behavior, how to get him interested in "Loid Forger," and extract the plans for the war Donovan is plotting. Donovan recalls the incident at the orientation and apologizes for being too busy to respond personally. Loid offers to bring a token of regret to his manor, but Donovan brushes it off with an unusually bright smile, startling Loid and upsetting Damian, who complains that Anya laid hands on him, a Desmond. Loid agrees and insists on making amends. Donovan smiles again and says it is fine, although he appreciates the sentiment. Loid realizes he is being blown off and withdraws, but not before thanking Donovan for his generosity.

Seeking attention from his father, Damian tries to express his feelings but gets blown off by Donovan. Loid speaks up to defend Damian's feelings and, hoping to get a read on Donovan, talks about the difficulties of parenting. Donovan agrees, stating that children are only related by blood and are essentially strangers who cannot be understood, adding that people will never truly be sympathetic with each other. Loid wonders if that is why Donovan seeks to control other nations with threats of military force and if he has uncovered a core belief. While Loid agrees with the sentiment, he tells Donovan that what is important is meeting them in the middle, citing how he always tries to communicate with Anya, regardless of how difficult it is.

Loid suggests that it may have been why Donovan took the time out of his schedule to meet with his son. Donovan supposes so, which surprises Damian. Loid then talks about Damian's respect for Donovan, bringing up the boy's school report on his work, which he had secretly snuck a peek at in the school. Loid praises Damian's project and how it positively changed his views on Donovan and the National Unity Party. Donovan decides to wrap up the conversation, but not before remembering Loid's name and saying that he enjoyed their conversation.

Loid is satisfied with this result, getting Donovan's acknowledgement and being able to memorize the faces and features of his security team. Before leaving, Loid asks Damian not to tell Anya about their conversation and tells him that he hopes they can get along. Damian says he also wants to get along with her but quickly gets embarrassed and yells at Loid to go away. Loid laughs it off and bids goodbye, leaving the father and son to talk.

Damian starts getting nervous and says he has nothing to say to Donovan. But before Donovan leaves, Damian, motivated by Loid and Anya's words, informs Donovan of his achievements and failures at school. Hearing this, Donovan passively praises him. Damian asks why Donovan decided to come to see him, and Donovan says he acted on a whim and tells his son to think nothing of it. As he walks away, he instructs Damian to continue striving so as not to besmirch their family name, which Damian enthusiastically agrees to while Ewen and Emile cheer him on.

Watching from inside the school, Loid gets a sense of how distant Donovan is from his son. He concludes that the closer Donovan and Damian are, the better the odds of success are for Plan B. Loid decides not to tail Donovan and instead takes the new intel to HQ for analysis. Before he leaves, Loid quietly watches Damian and his friends excitedly cheering for Stella. Loid returns home to see Anya fast asleep with Bond. As Anya mutters strange things in her sleep, an exhausted Loid thinks about how carefree she is.

After the Mixer - The Field Research Trip
As morning rises at Eden Academy, Damian misses morning muster, having studied all night. As punishment, Henry Henderson tasks him with helping the dorm mother with chores, forbidding him from leaving school grounds until he finishes. Emile and Ewen go to check on Damian worried that he is pushing himself too hard. They mention that their dorm tutor will take all the boys to the movies and get roast beef on the way back. Damian is adamant on not going and studying instead, hoping for his father's praise again if he works hard to better himself. To help him finish chores faster, Ewen and Emile purposefully loiter around the halls in an unkempt manner, waiting for Henderson to punish them.

While Damian is surprised to see them join him, he tells them to go ahead without him, but they stay to help with the chores anyways. The boys end up playing around during their chores, and seeing this, Henderson thinks about how there is nothing more elegant than the precious elegance of youthful friendship. Henderson decides to give the boys a new punishment for their tomfoolery while doing chores: going on a field research trip with Mr. Green.

Mr. Green takes the now frantic boys on a fast-paced canoe ride, planning to take them to a lake for a picnic. As Damian spots an approaching "waterfall," he accidentally falls off the canoe. When he cries for help, Ewen and Emile jump over to save him, only to end up in the same situation. They decide to let Damian survive to live and carry on their dreams, which moves him. Green then reveals that the water is actually shallow, which embarrasses the boys. After starting a warm fire on land, Green tells them to catch some fish for dinner. With Green's help, the friends prepare to fish. They look for bait and turn over a rock to find some earthworms, which frighten Damian. After Ewen and Emile chase Damian around with worms, they start fishing and successfully catch fish for each of them. As they enjoy their hard-earned meal, Green tells Damian that it is okay to enjoy oneself every now and then. After eating, he takes the boys to "Stella Lake," which Damian is excited to see.

Upon reaching their destination, the boys are amazed by the lake, where the stars reflect on its surface and look like they can be reached, hence the name Stella Lake. Damian is shocked there are no Stellas but denies that the trip was wasted. Damian, Ewen, and Emile lie on the ground and look to the stars. Green says they should be heading back and reminds them to write a proper field report. After returning to the dorm, Green meets with Henderson with the reports in hand. Henderson thanks Green and asks if he was able to "let the boys loose," which he confirms. While Henderson reviews the reports, he says Damian's needs some work, noting how brief it is.

Life-and-Death Dinner
While lazing on the couch, Bond receives a vision where everything is pitch black. He wonders what it means and assumes a scientist from Project Apple might come to kill him. As Bond frets, he sees the family photos and imagines his family mourning for him but saying he died happily. Bond accepts his fate and goes to Anya's room to say goodbye, but she says she is busy with homework and shuts the door on him. Bond trudges to Yor, who apologizes to him for forgetting to buy more dog food. Since Loid is out working, Yor decides to cook Bond's dinner for him.

Remembering his mysterious vision, Bond believes he will die from eating Yor's dinner. Bond starts to panic, then realizes he can refuse to eat the food. However, he recalls Anya telling him that Yor will kill him if he upsets her, then imagines Yor killing him if he refused. Bond starts defiantly thrashing around the house but comes up with an idea: if he can help Loid with his work, he can come home early and make Bond's dinner, preventing his death. With this resolve, the family dog unlocks the door and runs away, bewildering Yor.

Bond runs around the streets of Berlint, sniffing for Loid's scent. He eventually tracks down Loid, who is outside the Born Industries facility. His current mission is to steal a sample of "Gerrulimus," a new truth serum developed by the company. However, because he has no time to collect intel for impersonation, his only option is to infiltrate directly. He is surprised when Bond shows up and tells him to go home. Bond refuses and tries to explain his situation to Loid. Loid is confused, so Bond guides him to a route free of people. Loid wonders how Bond knows this and recalls that Born Industries was presumably involved with Project Apple. Assuming Bond knows this and wants payback against the scientists who abused him and his friends as test subjects, Loid lets him tag along to complete their missions.

The two infiltrate the facility and make their way to the laboratory, which is full of specimen lockers, one of them containing the serum. While Loid works to find it, Bond has another vision. He foresees the staff returning to the lab, causing Loid to hold them off, and orders Bond to run home. Bond becomes distressed and warns Loid to hide. Before hiding, he leaves a note saying the Gerrulimus has been stolen for the staff to see, tricking them into opening and checking the locker with the serum. Loid and a masked Bond jump down on the men and knock them out. Loid thanks Bond as he retrieves the sample and says he can go home early. As a result, Bond has a vision of Loid making his dinner and Yor happy for his safety, and he barks for joy.

Working for Family
After surveilling a room where a deal is being held, Yuri and his division arrest all the men present on suspicion of espionage. At the SSS building, a superior praises Yuri for his work and gives him another assignment: Investigating Franklin Perkin, a journalist who writes several books and articles that slander Ostania and sells them to Ostanian black markets, and stop his work from influencing public opinion. The Lieutenant expresses concern for the amount of work Yuri's been doing lately, but Yuri reassures him and is disgusted at Franklin for his traitorous activities.

Yuri monitors Franklin, referring to him as Subject J-095, and carefully logs his every move from when he wakes up and goes to sleep, even detailing the people around him and the conversations he has. The lieutenant is impressed at the number of details but tries to persuade Yuri to let someone take over as he has pulled two all-nighters in a row, noting that he is showing signs of fatigue.

Yuri hears Franklin preparing to leave home, and he and the lieutenant move out to tail him. Franklin tries to find something to write about as he discreetly takes pictures with a camera hidden under his jacket. Several children run past him, playing with a Bondman replica pistol. Franklin walks up to them and snatches the replica pistol, throwing it into a nearby dumpster. The children quickly dig into the dumpster to find the toy, and Franklin takes a picture to stage them as desperate and hungry street urchins. When the children threaten to report him to the SSS, Franklin intimidates them, which angers Yuri.

Franklin returns home to write a new article. His father is concerned about his activities, but Franklin says he wants to make the country a better place for his family to live, and wishes they had more money so his mother would still be alive. As Yuri listens, he wonders aloud if Franklin is motivated by concern for his family on the report but quickly rips it out and crumples it.

On the 11th, Yuri continues monitoring Franklin, noting no signs of attempted contact with his publishers. He then realizes that Franklin does it at his work, the post office. Yuri stalks Franklin at the post office, where Franklin offers to handle the mail instead and discreetly slips the manuscript into the mail, sealing his fate.

On the 15th, Franklin prepares to leave but sees Yuri and SSS officers waiting outside the apartment. Though shocked, he accepts his fate and tells his father he will not be back for a while. After Franklin walks outside, Yuri informs him that they have arrested the publishers from the letter. Franklin expresses appreciation for them waiting outside, and Yuri tells him there was no reason for his family to witness his disgrace while he places handcuffs on him. Franklin wonders which of the two is the real disgrace, but Yuri says he would never do anything to cause his family pain. As Franklin gets escorted away, Yuri says he will apply for his father to receive financial assistance, and Franklin thanks him.

Yuri's boss pats him on the back, saying he is proud of him. Yuri vows to protect their country and catch Twilight, and the boss promises to treat him to a steak dinner. Afterward, Yuri drops by the Forger home. When Yor asks if something is wrong, Yuri says he simply wanted to see her face. Hearing his thoughts, Anya pats him. Yor also pats Yuri on the head and praises him, deciding to make some tea for everyone, which makes Yuri happy.

The Pastry of Knowledge
The "Pastry of Knowledge" is one of the seven wonders of Eden Academy. It is said that a mysterious pâtissier randomly appears in the cafeteria and offers extraordinarily delicious desserts. As many of those who have managed to eat this pastry become Imperial Scholars, it has become rumored that it makes one instantly smarter.

During lunch, Anya and Becky play-pretend with their sheep dolls. Becky then informs Anya that at the end of the term, students will be divided into new classes based on performance. Anya is horrified that she might be alone, so Becky encourages her to work harder, adding that the grouping is rumored to be based on not just the midterms and finals, but tomorrow's quizzes too.

Anya and Becky overhear other students gossiping about the Pastries of Knowledge selling in Dining Hall 2, made by a formal royal chef visiting today. The student adds that eating one guarantees becoming an Imperial Scholar, which catches Anya and Becky's attention, and they take off to the dining hall. Anya anticipates the possibility of becoming a genius if she eats one, while Becky is excited to try macarons from a former royal chef. They see a queue of students lined up for the pastries, but Damian and his friends run up next to them with the same goal. The server then announces only one order left of the special "Pierre Pommier Macaron" set. The two groups try to get the last set but are stunned when George Glooman has already ordered it.

Damian and Becky rush up to George and demand he give the macarons to them. When George tries to protest, the kids remind him what he owes them. George concedes to give up four macarons out of the set of five macarons. The other kids realize there are five of them and decide to have a round of Old Maid to determine who gets the macarons. Anya is unaware of the rules as she has never played cards before, but wins the game using her mind-reading abilities. Damian and his friends are in disbelief and accuse her of cheating. When Damian thinks she could be reading minds, Anya panics and suggests they play another round, where she purposefully makes mistakes and gets the Joker card.

Anya's facial expressions are easy to read, making it impossible for her to get rid of the Joker card. Everyone else gets rid of their cards, leaving only Anya and Damian. Anya panics at the thought of not getting a macaron, thus failing her tests and being in a different class from Becky. As Damian is about to take a card, he sees Anya tearing up, and he takes the Joker card, losing the game.

After getting her macaron, Anya offers to share half with Damian, who angrily rejects her in embarrassment. Emile, Ewen, Becky, and Anya eat their macarons, and Anya becomes fired up after eating the pastry, studying with fiery vigor until the quizzes the next day. When their results come back, Henry shows that Anya's quiz results are just as bad as before, leaving Anya and the others in disbelief, and Becky tries to cheer up the depressed Anya so that she will make it up on her finals.

At home, Loid and Yor look at Anya's quiz papers while Anya goes to her room to sulk. Loid notes that she would have done well on her Classical Language test had she not lost so many points on spelling mistakes. He wonders how Anya did so well since they barely studied Classical Language in class and if she is acquainted with it due to her upbringing. Loid decides to brush it off and tells Anya that he made her favorite hamburg steak for dinner, which cheers her up. Yor adds that she tried to make dessert, and Bond barks in horror.

Story Impact

 * Supporting character Martha Marriott is introduced.
 * Donovan Desmond makes his first physical appearance.
 * Loid has his first meeting with Donovan.

Trivia

 * The faces of some Imperial Scholars and graduates are first introduced as cameos in this arc.
 * Demetrius Desmond is the only one of them who has replicas, but at the same time, the only one whose face and silhouette were not visible.