The socially awkward villain's furry superpower

Sienna pondered.

“I…” She paused for a moment.

Could she tell these people sitting in front of her that she had absolutely no idea what to do next? Her sisters, on the other hand, accepted it readily. They might be a bit mischievous, but they had always been her staunch supporters.

Although they are a little wicked, and their future goals are not entirely the same as his, they are undoubtedly on his side.

What she wasn't so sure about was what the others thought. Sam was eager to create chaos and turmoil, and putting aside her excuse of writing a thesis, the girl thoroughly enjoyed being a lackey.

Aleya Ikta was involved for self-preservation. The secret organization frightened him—which was understandable—and Sienna could offer him protection.

At least, that's what he thought. In reality, her protection might not have been of much value.

Surprisingly, the easygoing Fabian was easier to work with. He had his own plans and was pursuing his own goals. She had just happened to help him twice. But that didn't mean he owed her anything, or that he would be particularly loyal to her.

If she were in his position, she would probably betray him in the blink of an eye.

Sienna leaned forward, elbows on the edge of the table, hands clasped in front of her chin. She needed to distract herself. “Sam,” she said. Sam immediately perked up and sat up straighter. “How’s that protection money thing going?”

"Oh? You want us to push things a little further? I've been doing some... um... gathering information, but haven't taken any concrete action yet. I'm just a lackey; I don't have the ability to make people hand over their valuables willingly."

Sienna felt a tightness in her forehead. It was definitely from the pressure; she was about to have a headache. "I... I feel like we can't really not push this forward a little. Maybe we could be selective? Hmm, just approach those businesses that can afford it? Or those that won't mind?"

"Don't mind being blackmailed for money?" Aleya Ikta asked.

Sienna felt her cheeks burning. She glared at him, trying to suppress the blush. "It's not blackmail. Perhaps... we can offer something in exchange?"

“Usually, businesses that collect protection money provide protection,” Sam said. “If someone refuses us, we can send that handsome guy behind us to rob a few shops.” She gave Fabian a thumbs-up, and Fabian shifted in his seat.

“Or we could send him to the places we’re protecting and put on a big show for the ordinary people,” Teddy said. “Let them see how we protect them when those capitalist giants inevitably turn against them.”

Sienna nodded slowly. "This might work. Do you think we can do the publicity? Let, uh, the sisters do the publicity?"

Sam grinned. "Oh, I get it. Let the little ones do the publicity, then, bang, Fabian shows up, and they chase him away. Then we'll, uh, rake in some 'publicity money' from behind."

As she spoke, she gestured with her finger to indicate quotation marks. "I bet most savvy businesspeople will figure it out quickly. And it might actually be good for business, meaning we can get more working capital."

“I… don’t completely disagree with the plan,” Fabian said. “It sounds somewhat similar to some of the ideas I’ve come up with before. Not exactly the same, but very close.”

Sienna nodded. "Let's discuss this in more detail. Sam, may I entrust you with the task of finding a suitable location to implement this plan?"

Sam gave her a thumbs up. "Leave it to me, boss. Just give me two or three days."

This happened much faster than Sienna had expected, but she tried hard not to show her surprise. Perhaps that's just how it is for an extrovert like Sam.

If Sienna were to call the store to arrange something like what they were discussing, it would probably take her an entire afternoon to muster the courage to pick up the phone.

"Okay. That's settled then. Having a long-term income is a good thing. Is there anything else?"

“That secret organization,” Aleya Ikta said.

Sienna frowned. "I don't know how to deal with them," she said.

“Let’s beat them up,” Teddy suggested.

“Drive them crazy,” Athena added.

“Steal their underwear,” Trinity suggested.

Sienna shook her head. "I think we need to be more subtle."

“I can be very clever,” Trinity said.

“I… well, I believe you can,” Sienna said. “I think we need to let that secret organization take action first. Maybe they’ll just leave the city. We’ve put Black Shield in a difficult position today. If we keep causing trouble like this, maybe they won’t bother us anymore.”

“Beat them in the information war,” Sam said. “Yeah, I think that will annoy them to death.”

Sienna nodded. She thought it was a pretty bad idea, and it was more to appease Aleya Ikta, since she actually had no idea what to do.

"Speaking of which, how many of them are there?" Teddy asked. "I bet we could hold our own against them."

“I’m not entirely sure,” Sienna said. “I’ve taken some notes about a few members who recently moved to Auclair. I’ll have to look at those notes again. I think there are at least three genuine members of a secret organization in town. Some other heroes might be working for them or cooperating with them.”

“What does this secret organization do?” Fabian asked.

“Oh, they’re a super cool secret organization that supports villains,” Sam said. “They provide the villains with equipment and costumes, and help them plan heists and the like. Then they send their own heroes to take care of the villains.”

“You know quite a lot about them,” Fabian said.

Sam nodded. "Just check the right forums. The boss knows a lot about the actual situation, which helps narrow it down. Filter out the lies and misinformation, understand?"

“I understand,” he said.

"I think their whole scheme is just for marketing and making money."

“What?” Sienna asked.

Sam made a vague gesture in the air in front of him. "They made some heroes famous. Those heroes owe them a favor."

They'd sign some project agreements or legal contracts. Then this secret organization would sell the heroes' images and make a fortune. Advertising deals, printing the heroes' logos on underwear, cereal boxes, toys—that's the kind of thing they did.

Sienna didn't know how to respond, so she simply skipped the topic. "Alright. Then let's keep an eye out, and seize any opportunity to thwart this secret organization."

However, this might not be easy. We need more detailed intelligence. I think I know someone who could provide intelligence, but dealing with him is quite troublesome.

“Oh, an informant, not bad!” Sam said.

"More or less," Sienna said.

She really didn't want to see the "handshake" guy. He was really unpleasant. But he was also afraid of Teddy, and now Sienna had a few more sisters around her.

"Okay, is there anything else?" Sienna asked. She felt quite accomplished about the discussion so far.

“Skill upgrade,” Teddy said. “We all got some upgrade points, right? I bet I’ll be even stronger after I upgrade.”

“Maybe it will make your head harder,” Athena said.

“Yes, I’ll be stronger all over!” Teddy exclaimed excitedly.

Sienna knew she had two skill slots available. But she was hesitant to use them right now. "I think we should wait until we get home to use these slots, just in case," she said.

Her sisters readily agreed.

“In that case… I think we should call it a day. Unless anyone has something else to add?” She glanced around the table, feeling a bit like a CEO in a movie. No one answered, so she continued, “Okay, meeting, uh, adjourned.”

Everyone stood up, and Sienna found herself feeling a little out of place. The others, including her sisters, started chatting amongst themselves. Athena was talking to Aleia Ikta, Trinity was bothering Fabian, and Teddy was excitedly telling a smiling Sam about the fascinating things she had read in the little red book.

This is good. Being alone suits her perfectly. She took the opportunity to relax and think about how to talk to her mother later. She at least had to send a text message, preferably before her mother saw it on the evening news.

Half an hour later, Sienna stood up, put her phone away, and began to gather her sisters. "We have to go home before it gets dark," she explained.

They still have a long way to go. Perhaps taking the train to work and parking their car near campus would be a good idea. That way, at least they'd save some time.

By the time they returned to their dormitory, the day was over, the sun was about to set, and Sienna was exhausted.

"So, can we upgrade our skills now?" Teddy asked.

Sienna bit her lip. “Okay,” she said, “but one at a time. Then it’ll be my turn. We… we might summon another sister.”

Her sisters were far more enthusiastic about the idea than she was. She just hoped that whoever she summoned wouldn't cause any more trouble.

However, based on past experience, she didn't have much hope for it.