Mission 17

In disguise, Loid and his Handler review Anya's freshly earned Stella Star. She floats the option of staging future stars with WISE personnel, which Loid refuses as too conspicuous, but she presses him to accelerate anyway: Donovan Desmond has been moving money in ways the agency finds alarming.

Anya struts into school with the star pinned to her chest and asks Becky to address her as "Starlight Anya." Whispers spread that no student has ever earned one faster, and Becky jokes the fame could win her a hundred friends in a day. Anya daydreams of Damian requesting her friendship and Loid praising her, but the real Damian only warns her against arrogance and walks off. In the classroom the mood turns hostile, with students sneering at her for wearing the medal and suggesting the rescue was staged. When two girls fish for Damian's agreement, he snaps that Eden Academy is no third-rate school that hands out unearned honors and tells them to transfer if they disagree. His own words sting him, since they force him to admit Anya has beaten him.

Over lunch, talk turns to the reward each Stella recipient may claim. Anya first thinks of peanuts; Becky, whose past prizes include gowns, tiaras, and even a tank, urges more ambition, and the scale of the Blackbell fortune leaves Anya rattled. Becky's favorite reward was her dog Wiesel, which plants an idea. When Anya questions Damian about pets, he brushes her off, but his mind shows her memories of playing with his dog Max. She imagines dog ownership leading to friendly visits with Damian, and eventually to Loid persuading Donovan toward world peace.

At home, Anya announces she wants a dog. Yor cautions that animals demand responsibility, while Loid pictures a trained guardian for Anya. Yor's imagination instead conjures a hound mauling the girl, and after Anya specifies something small and cute, Yor envisions a tiny dog wielding a knife. Loid settles on a weekend pet shop trip.

Meanwhile, two dealers inventory dogs they intend to sell to student revolutionaries as living bomb carriers. Among the sickly animals, one large dog rises to his feet after glimpsing a vision of Loid, Yor, and Anya smiling at him.

Handler pushes Loid to speed up Anya's Stella collection, citing suspicious financial activity by Donovan Desmond.

Anya's classmates accuse her of faking the rescue, and Damian defends the school's integrity while privately conceding defeat.

Anya chooses a dog as her Stella reward, hoping it will bring her closer to Damian.

A captive dog destined to become Bond Forger debuts, foreseeing his future with the family.

This chapter marks the first appearance of Bond Forger, shown as one of the dogs being sold to the Berlint University student revolutionaries for use in a bombing plot.

The chapter belongs to the Stella Star Arc and is adapted in Episode 11 of the anime. Sylvia Sherwood and Loid Forger appear on the cover.