The Cold War and the Imperative of Operation Strix
Divided by a bitter Cold War, the neighboring nations of Westalis and Ostania maintain a fragile, precarious peace. To prevent the ultra-nationalist Ostanian politician Donovan Desmond from sparking a catastrophic world war, the Westalian intelligence agency WISE mobilizes their greatest operative: code name "Twilight."
Because Donovan Desmond is a paranoid recluse who only attends private social gatherings hosted by Eden Academy—Ostania's most prestigious boarding school attended by his sons—Twilight is handed an impossible assignment: Operation Strix. Within seven days, the solitary master of disguises must acquire a wife, adopt a child, pass Eden Academy's rigorous family interviews, and enroll his child into the school to get close to Desmond.
Assembling the Forger Family: Three Big Secrets
Adopting the civilian persona of psychiatrist Loid Forger, Twilight visits a run-down orphanage looking for a child capable of reading and writing. He encounters little pink-haired Anya, who instantly solves a crossword puzzle. What Loid doesn't know is that Anya is an escaped test subject from a shadowy organization known as "Project Apple," gifted with telepathic abilities: she can read the minds of anyone in her proximity. Because she can read Loid's thoughts, she knows he is a real-life spy and becomes overjoyed to be adopted into such an exciting mission.
To satisfy Eden Academy's requirement that both parents attend the entrance interview, Loid crosses paths with Yor Briar at a tailor shop. Yor is a sweet, mild-mannered clerk at Berlint City Hall who is secretly Ostania's deadliest contract assassin, known as the "Thorn Princess." Facing suspicion from coworkers because she is unmarried at 27, Yor agrees to enter into a mutual marriage of convenience with Loid.
Thus, the hilarious dynamic is established: Loid thinks he is the only one with a secret; Yor thinks she is the only one living a double life; and only little Anya knows everyone's true identities, doing her hilarious best to keep the family together so she won't be returned to the orphanage!
Eden Academy and the Friendship Scheme
After barely navigating the grueling Eden Academy interview—where Loid nearly punches an arrogant proctor for insulting Anya—Anya is accepted into the school.
To approach Donovan Desmond, Anya must become an Imperial Scholar by earning eight Stella Stars awarded for academic excellence or heroic community service. However, receiving eight Tonitrus Bolts for misconduct or failing tests results in instant expulsion.
Realizing Anya's academic limits (she loves peanuts and spy cartoons, but hates studying), Loid develops "Plan B: The Friendship Scheme." Anya attempts to befriend Desmond's second son, the haughty Damian Desmond. Their interactions start disastrously when Anya punches Damian across the courtyard for bullying her, yet her iconic smirk and sincere tearful apology later accidentally ignite an unspoken childhood crush within Damian's heart.
Bond the Precognitive Dog and the Cruise Adventure
The family expands when they foil a terrorist bombing plot orchestrated by Ostanian university extremists. Rescuing an abandoned giant white Pyrenean dog tested by Project Apple, Anya discovers that the dog possesses precognitive visions of the future! Anya names him Bond (after her favorite cartoon spy Bondman). Together, Anya and Bond secretly avert Loid's assassination from a bomb trap.
In the thrilling Great Cruise Adventure Arc aboard the luxury ship Princess Lorelei, Yor is hired by the Garden to protect Olka Gretcher, the widow of a fallen mafia boss, from dozens of elite hitmen. While Loid and Anya vacation on the upper decks (with Loid constantly defusing secondary bombs disguised as ship crew), Yor engages in ferocious, blood-drenched martial arts battles below deck to protect the young mother and baby. Through this trial, Yor reaffirms that she fights and stains her hands with blood so that ordinary people—and especially her precious makeshift family, Loid and Anya—can live peaceful, smiling lives.