As Yor wonders if her married life with Loid might be too perfect without any gripes, Twilight must battle all hesitations to help WISE stop a crafty and powerful mole before the SSS can secure him and the stolen intel—including, among others, blueprints of Operation Strix.
Tropes associated with the Mole Hunt Arc:
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: After a night out drinking with the girls at work, Yor is convinced that not having any issues with Loid is a problem, and tries to find a reason to be mad at him. This continues until the next morning when the liquor finally wears off and Yor realizes how utterly nonsensical the endeavor is.
- Evil Counterpart: The mole, Winston Wheeler, serves as one to Twilight.
- Mood Whiplash:
- Mission-80 starts humorously enough with Yor trying to pick a fight with Loid because she's still a little drunk from the previous night and because her friends from the office told her it was normal for couples to fight. When Yuri barges into the Forgers' home he tries, in vain, to convince Yor to divorce Loid, and after Loid gets a call from the hospital for an emergency, Yuri convinces Yor that Loid is having an affair and they tail him, but Yuri then gets called off to work, and Yor goes home when she sobers up and realizes the whole thing is dumb. The chapter ends with Nightfall briefing Twilight that an Ostanian mole was discovered in the higher levels of the Westalis government, but escaped with a load of sensitive information, from the names and locations of WISE agents as well as the plans for Operations Strix, and Twilight is assigned to capture the mole and, more importantly, recover the stolen intelligence. Meanwhile, at S.S.S. H.Q., Yuri and his unit are being briefed on their new mission: keep their agent from being captured by WISE and secure the captured intelligence by any means necessary.
- In Mission-86, after Loid gets home from a hard day "at the hospital," and Yor shoos away Yuri to not bother Loid so the latter can get some rest, Loid tries to apologize to Yor for making her mad (as martial tension could be detrimental to Operation Strix), but she clarifies that she tried to pick a fight because her coworkers couldn't believe he was such perfect husband. Yor adds that as capable as he is, Loid shouldn't do everything himself, as his wife she's more than willing to help him and share any responsibilities in their marriage. Loid goes into the shower and chastises himself for not being at the top of the game, believing he'll fail his mission if he doubts himself. When he comes out, he smells smoke, thinking Yuri didn't shake off his suspicions and is there to capture him, only to see Yor burned his shirt trying to iron it. Loid collapses and accepts the situation may be hopeless.
