Chapter 34

Mission 34 (: 34) is the thirty-fourth chapter of the SPY x FAMILY manga, written and illustrated by Tatsuya Endo. It was released on October 5, 2020.

Summary
Nearing the Forger's neighborhood, Fiona Frost offers to drive Loid Forger all the way to his home, wanting to spend more time with him. Loid removes his disguise and reminds her that he is a happily married man that does not want anyone getting the wrong idea if they see him leaving a young lady's car; he adds that people get reported to the SSS all the time for infidelity. Fiona’s heart beats, and in her thoughts, she asks if Loid acknowledges her skills, which would make her a more suitable wife and partner. Loid gets dropped off at a park, and before he can say goodbye to Fiona, he is interrupted by Yor Forger calling for Anya and Bond to go home.

Loid sees his family still playing at the park and takes note of it. Fiona glares at them, then steps out of her car and walks towards Yor. Fiona greets Yor, who is surprised by her presence. Loid also walks over to greet them and says Fiona gave him a ride home while she thought to stop by and say hello. Fiona looks at Yor’s racket and asks if Yor plays tennis. Yor explains that she and Anya practiced with Loid the other day, and Anya proudly states that she hit many home runs. Loid thanks them for their help, and Fiona scoffs in her thoughts. Fiona believes Yor to be presumptuous for believing Loid, saying that she herself would have helped Loid achieve further greatness. Fiona proceeds to challenge Yor to a game. Loid asks what Fiona is doing, and Fiona secretly explains that she wants to make sure Yor is prepared for the physical rigors of Operation Strix.Fiona plans to crush Yor and have her relinquish her role as the mother. Loid tells Yor that she does not have to accept, but Yor believes that if she declines or loses, Loid will report her to the SSS for being a weak tennis player and replace her with Fiona, thus accepting the challenge. Having read both of their minds, Anya can feel the tension between the women and flashes back to Becky Blackbell excitedly telling her about the latest episode from Berlint in Love, where the main character’s fiancé encountered his childhood friend. However, Anya cannot sympathize with Becky as she prefers cartoons. Relating this to the current situation, Anya says she now understands what Becky what talking about, saying that she likes action battles too. Before starting their game, Fiona tells Yor to come at her with everything she has. Loid tries warning Fiona but is told to step back. Yor agrees with Fiona’s statement and decides to go all out, making a powerful swing as she serves. However, Yor appears to have missed her shot, and the ball drops to the ground.

Fiona scoffs at this but sees the ball slice up into small pieces. Yor thinks about how she always cuts through the ball when she swings too hard and decides to hold back a little if she wants to hit the ball. Yor calls Anya for another ball, and Anya gets Bond to bring one over. Yor then tells a stunned Fiona that she is going to try again. While Fiona tries to process what just happened, Yor swings the ball, which moves faster than sound and in a perfectly straight line. Fiona tries her best to return the ball, but struggles to push it forward. She thinks about how her love for Loid cannot lose to Yor, who stands in the way of her ambition. Fiona ultimately fails, and the ball breaks through her racket.

Fiona falls to the ground, shocked by her defeat. Yor rushes to Fiona, asking if she is alright, while Loid thinks about how he warned Fiona. Fiona declares Yor the victor for now but will one day challenge her to a revenge match. Fiona tells Yor to enjoy her life until then before driving off and, in tears, declares that she will never give up. Yor wonders if she upset Fiona somehow, Loid tells her that Fiona is very passionate about tennis, and Anya thinks about how energetic Fiona is. Loid hopes that Fiona did not give Yor the wrong idea, but because of their sham marriage, imagines that Yor would not be affected by her. His thoughts are interrupted by Yor, who enthusiastically exclaims her victory. After Yor struts away in a huff, Loid starts feeling exhausted. Anya says she is hungry, and Loid says he will get something delivered.

The next day, Loid meets with Sylvia Sherwood, who tells him Fiona went up to the mountains to train her swing speed. Sylvia proceeds to brief their findings from the secret code and hands Loid the "Zacharis Dossier," in the form of Erik Zacharis' diary. Reading it, Loid learns that the threat Zacharis hid was his collection of starlet photos. Zacharis liked theater and bought postcards to support the actresses, but his wife disapproved of them and told him to get rid of them. Unable to part with them, he locked away his collection lest it reignited the flames of strife between him and his wife. Astounded at the revelation, Loid asks how the dossier rumors started. A WISE Agent tells him that before the war's end, Zacharis hosted Western diplomats at a musical performance and made them swear to secrecy so his wife would not find out. Over the years, the story got embellished into the current rumor.

Realizing that he went through all that trouble for some postcards, Loid tries to find a greater mystery behind it, but Sylvia assures him that there was no bombshell to reignite the war and considers it a victory. Loid agrees, then sees a picture of Zacharis smiling with his wife and daughter and contemplates the notion that any lie is justified in the name of peace. On his way home, Loid goes to a bakery and orders an apple tart and a slice of caramel nutcake for Yor and Anya, respectively. Back at home, Anya plays with Bond in the living room while Yor sits on the couch looking dazed.

Meanwhile, Fiona trains in the mountains with a large rock tied to a stick, roaring while the wildlife watches from the side in fear.

Trivia

 * Sylvia wears the rings Fiona won in the previous chapter.