Chapter 134

The chapter opens mid-crisis: Twilight stands encircled by SSS officers while Yuri's Lieutenant probes his background and Yuri and Chloe look on. Aware that a single misstep could doom Operation Strix, Loid asks himself how things came to this.

Days earlier at SSS headquarters, Yuri retells the studio hijacking to his coworkers, furiously scrubbing the hand that once bumped fists with Loid. His contradictory attitude toward his brother-in-law leaves Chloe and the Lieutenant baffled, and when another officer floats a weekend get-together, Yuri quietly asks something of his superior.

In the present, with Yor working through the weekend and Anya off with Becky and Martha, Loid is rebuffed by Bond over training and settles in to clear hospital paperwork, only for Yuri to burst in and haul him to the gathering. One look at the guests tells Loid he is standing among SSS officers, whatever Yuri's talk of Foreign Ministry colleagues. He spirals internally: has Twilight been unmasked, did the hijacking draw eyes, should he bolt at once?

The Lieutenant approaches and introduces himself as Chad Curtis, joined by Chloe; both are quietly honoring Yuri's request to assess whether Loid merits being Yor's partner. Lieutenant Nicholson assures Loid the event is a casual affair for colleagues, close friends, and family, teasing that Yuri may already count him as kin, a jab that sets Yuri off and shows Loid that his brother-in-law is every bit as unhinged among his own people.

The officers then grill Loid about his career, income, and marriage. Most treat the interrogation as drunken sport, but Loid reads every question and glance as a potential threat to the mission. When Nicholson asks outright whether he loves Yor, Loid answers that he does, and Nicholson judges the reply genuine, winning over most of the room. Yuri's vetting scheme is laid bare, easing the pressure even as an embarrassed Yuri withholds his approval.

The reprieve collapses when Loid overhears that Yor is expected at the party. He suddenly recalls impersonating Curtis while investigating her shortly after meeting Yuri, meaning a conversation between Yor and the genuine article could unravel the deception. Resolving to keep the two apart, he readies himself just as Yuri announces her imminent arrival and the doorbell sounds.

Yuri drags Loid into a gathering of SSS officers convened partly to evaluate him as Yor's husband.

Loid's declaration that he loves Yor is judged sincere by Lieutenant Nicholson, satisfying most of the room.

Loid realizes Yor could unknowingly expose his old impersonation of Curtis, and the doorbell rings as she arrives.

Mission 134 runs 21 pages and was released on May 11, 2026, as part of the SSS Gathering Arc. It reveals the SSS Lieutenant's full name, Chadwick Curtis, for the first time and debuts First Lieutenant Nicholson alongside Second Lieutenants O'Conner and Peters. Chloe's shirt reading "2 IKKA" encodes her posting in Bureau 2, Division 1, and Nicholson's belt spells himitsu, Japanese for secret.