There is a dark secret hiding in Professor Authen’s past.
In the previous chapter of Tatsuya Endo’s Spy x Family manga, we saw Loid learning from Melinda’s diary that his elderly neighbour Professor Sigmund Authen used to be a close associate of Donovan. In the recent chapter, he and Anya visit the Authen couple under the pretext of Anya needing some help with her studies. Unfortunately, Loid doesn’t get any information as they seem like a harmless old couple. But at night, a distant memory haunts Professor Authen.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead:
Spy x Family Chapter 122 recap
The chapter opens with Yor leaving to have dinner with her co-workers who wanted to apologise for accusing her of cheating. Loid thinks about how the notebook from Melinda she gave him provided him with some amazing details. Anya reads his mind and panics because she doesn’t want to be left behind. Loid again thinks how Professor Authen must have been involved in Donovan’s businesses but doesn’t know how to approach the elderly man about it. Anya suddenly suggests about getting tutoring sessions from ‘Grandpa Siggy’ (Professor Sigmund Authen) again so she can get back to the same class as Becky and Damian.
Loid is relieved to finally have a pretext to visit their neighbours and both the Authens welcome them warmly. While Loid tries to be tactful with Mrs, Authen, Anya directly asks Sigmund about evil organisations and if he has ever done anything bad as part of one. Loid is shocked, but Sigmund answers happily as he loves Anya’s enthusiasm. He also admits that he can’t say with 100% surety to never have done anything evil for their nation’s government while it was involved in war. Anya asks if he ever fought in a war and Sigmund says that he was mostly there as a researcher and scholar.
Loid asks if he was close to Donovan Desmond and Sigmund answers that he has worked with the former Prime Minister. Although Sigmund was very old already, Donovan met several scholars regularly during that time. Sigmund also says to Loid that they mostly talked about medical research on how to treat soldiers’ neuroses and the development of medicine. Sigmund also points to a picture of his former colleagues, one of whom turns out to be Anya’s classmate George’s grandfather.
Loid says that Donovan’s son Damian is also in the same class as Anya, and that the former prime minister’s wife is also friends with his wife Yor. Sigmund says that he remembers Melinda to be a thoughtful woman and Donovan to be a serious man. However, due to his dementia, he can’t remember many details about the former prime minister, including how he looked. Reading his mind, Anya realises that he must not have been very close with Donovan and thinks her father is wasting his time constantly doubting them.
Mrs. Authen offers Anya some sweets and while she’s talking to Sigmund, she tells Loid that although her husband suffers from dementia, having Anya there brightens up his day. Finally, Loid decides that it seems Sigmund is safe as he has no political influence anymore. Before they can leave, Yor comes back and Anya tells Loid wants to give her a kiss following something the Authens had said. Yor runs away again with a red face.
Later at night we see Mrs. Authen asks Sigmund if he’s getting that sinking feeling again. She leaves to make him some tea while he hyperventilates, haunted by his broken memories. He decides to write everything down before he forgets. We learn that he was part of a plan involving Donovan Desmond and wonders if it’s still underway. Finally, he wonders if Anya is really Test Subject #7, which tells us that he was part of Project Apple.
Spy x Family Chapter 122 review
It seems to have been so long since we’ve seen some real plot progression in this manga and I’m happy we’re finally going somewhere. Although he seems to have forgotten most things due to dementia, it seems Sigmund was one of the scientists who experimented on Anya and other children. But has he really forgotten, or is being given some medication to forget these memories? Could Mrs. Authen be involved in this? Most importantly, are we finally getting to know Anya’s backstory and how she came to have her powers?
Spy x Family Chapter 123 release date
The next chapter of Spy x Family will be released on Monday, September 15, 2025, at 12 AM JST (Sunday, September 14, 2025, at 11 PM SGT, 8:30 PM IST, 11 AM EST, AND 8 AM PST). You can read the new chapters for free on the Manga Plus and Viz Media websites, as well as on the Manga Plus mobile app.
