Chapter 41

Mission 41 (: 41) is the forty-first chapter of the SPY x FAMILY manga, written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo. It was released on February 22, 2021.

Summary
Yuri Briar is surveilling a room through a listening device as three men enter. He quickly assesses the position and skill of the men through their footsteps, determining that two of them are big and professional and that his target, Conrad, sits on the sofa. After Yuri announces they have made the deal, the lieutenant tells him they are going in. The lieutenant and two members of SSS enter, arresting the men on suspicion of espionage. Conrad attempts to evade arrest through the window, only for Yuri, who waits outside to disable him.

Back at the SSS building, a superior praises Yuri for his work and give him another assignment to investigate 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 some concern for the amount of work Yuri's been doing lately, but Yuri reassures him. Yuri is disgusted at Franklin for selling out his own country for money.

Yuri monitors Franklin, referring to him as Subject J-095, and carefully logs all his actions from waking up to sleeping, as well as the appearance of fellow passengers on the train and his conversations with his co-workers. 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. As the lieutenant reads out the report, Yuri twitches in response to some words that sound similar to Yor, so he tells Yuri to rest.

At Franklin's apartment, the landlady loudly knocks on his door to demand he pay his back rent. Franklin tries to persuade her to give him a few more days and promises to pay up the day after tomorrow. After the landlady leaves, he prepares to leave, informing his father that he will be going out for a bit. Yuri and the lieutenant nod at each other and follow Franklin outside. 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 show them as desperate and hungry street urchins. When the children threaten to report him to the SSS, Franklin intimidates them and 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 if Franklin is motivated by concern for his family on the report but rips it out and crumples it.

On the 11th, Yuri continues to monitor Franklin, noting no signs of attempted contact with his publishers. Franklin is working at the post office. After a load of mail gets cleared by the monitors, Franklin offers to handle the mail instead and discreetly slips the manuscript into the mail.

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've arrested the publishers. Franklin expresses appreciation for them waiting outside, and Yuri tells him there was no reason for his family to witness his arrest while he places handcuffs on him. 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. The boss promises to treat Yuri to a steak dinner. Yuri drops by the Forgers' home with Loid, Yor, and Anya at home. When Yor asks if something is wrong, Yuri says he simply wanted to see her face. Anya reads Yuri's mind and pats him. Yor also pats Yuri on the head and praises him, deciding to make some tea for everyone.

Trivia

 * This chapter shows an even greater similarity of the SSS to the Stasi of East Germany, as seen with their very detailed monitoring of the journalist's movements.
 * On page 2, the SSS Lieutenant displays a badge which only shows the emblem resembling the Nazi eagle, not showing the "Shield and Sword of the Party" emblems which are part of the insignia of the Stasi.
 * Yuri monitored Franklin from the 6th to the 15th.
 * This chapter takes inspiration from the German drama film The Lives of Others, sharing a similar premise.