I was up early this fine morning in Schoolville, already fiddling with some of the new toys I had been working on. My latest creation was a spring-loaded gun of sorts. It didn’t have much power, but it could hurl a tennis ball across the shop with surprising accuracy. The spring mechanism was a coiled root, carefully infused with just enough mana to retract and release on command. I made sure to keep the mana draw low, as I didn’t want to accidentally create something more powerful than intended.

Loki had been kind enough to convince the spiders to create web balls for ammo. The sticky spheres exploded on contact in a satisfying burst of webbing. It was hilarious watching my targets get covered in gooey strands. And for added entertainment, I was designing a version that both the spiders and bees could use. A small gift to my minions, if you will. I’d recently discovered that people—and animals—could gain skills just by playing around. The bees, for example, had picked up some nifty abilities like Mana Infusion, Shooting, and Ballistics. I had high hopes for what might happen as I began distributing these toys more widely throughout Schoolville.

I was halfway through making a new batch of ammo when the shop’s door slammed open. A woman stormed in, her face flushed with fury. Startled, I looked up. I didn't recognize her, but her eyes were practically throwing daggers at me.

“May I help you, ma’am?” I asked cautiously, placing my tools down and stepping back from the workbench.

“Oh, you can help me alright,” she snapped, crossing her arms. “You can have your stupid pets stop following me around, you pervy little creep!”

I blinked, utterly bewildered. I wracked my brain, trying to figure out what I could have done to deserve this level of wrath. “I’m sorry,” I began, my words tentative, “Your name seems to have escaped me.”

Now, this was what is commonly known in pro gamer circles as a ‘bad move.’ Never admit to an angry lady that you don’t know her name. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

“You know full well who I am,” she seethed. “Your damn squirrel has been stalking me all week. It's starting to get weird.”

“Fernando?” I asked, looking around the room. Where was that little troublemaker? I didn’t see him anywhere, and I noticed that he had gone suspiciously quiet in my mind.

“Fernando!” I called out. “Get out here.”

A long, awkward silence followed before Fernando finally peeked out from behind a box, his furry face looking just a tad guilty. “Yeah, boss?” he squeaked.

I nodded toward the furious woman. “Can you explain this?”

“Yeah, boss,” Fernando replied, his tone flat.

We both waited. The silence grew unbearable.

“Well?” I prompted, exasperated.

“She’s sneaky, boss,” Fernando answered simply, as if that explained everything.

The woman exploded again. “I told you that! What are you and your pervy squirrel up to, anyway?”

I shook my head, raising my hands in a defensive gesture. “I don’t know. This is new to me too. I have no idea what is going on.”

“I’ll tell you what’s going on,” she screeched, pointing an accusatory finger at me. “You and your pervy squirrel have been spying on me in the shower!”

I was taken aback. “Well, I haven’t been,” I said slowly, trying to process what she was implying. “I’ve specifically told my familiars not to show me stuff like that.” I paused as the realization hit me. “I see my mistake now.”

“Really?” she inquired, sarcasm dripping from every word. “Your mistake?”

“I still don’t know your name,” I countered, though I immediately regretted saying it. Today was rapidly turning into a complete disaster. Maybe I could just go back to bed and start over.

“I am Evelynn Strauss,” she declared, her voice filled with righteous fury.

Realization dawned on me. “Oh, you’re the teacher lady who sneaks around all the time.”

“See, boss gets it now,” Fernando piped up cheerfully from his spot behind the box. “She’s sneaky.”

Evelynn looked like she was about to explode again, so I quickly intervened. “At the risk of making this worse, can I suggest we all take a deep breath and calm down?” I said, hands held up in a placating gesture. “He’s a squirrel. I’m almost certain he meant no harm.”

Evelynn squinted at me, eyes suspicious. “But you can see what your familiars see?”

“I mean, yeah?” I admitted. “But I have to work at it, and I usually don’t with Fernando. His senses are kind of... well, chaotic.”

“Hmph,” Evelynn snorted, still looking unconvinced.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

I gestured toward a corner of the shop where a pair of chairs sat near a table laden with jars of preserved fruits. “Wanna pull up a chair? I have fruit juice that is just divine. We can sit, drink, and figure this out. It’s way too early for shouting.”

Evelynn hesitated, but the tension in her shoulders eased just a fraction. “Fine,” she muttered, moving toward the chair. “But this better be good, Gavrin.”

I nodded, breathing a small sigh of relief as she settled down. This was going to take some finesse to sort out. I shot Fernando a warning look as he climbed onto a nearby shelf, his eyes wide and innocent. Meanwhile, I reached for a pitcher of juice and poured us both a glass, trying to formulate my next words carefully.

"So, Evelynn," I began, handing her the glass, "Let's start from the beginning. What exactly happened, and how can we make sure it doesn't happen again?"

Evelynn took the glass but didn’t drink, her eyes boring into mine as if gauging my sincerity. “Your squirrel,” she began slowly, “has been everywhere I go. Watching, stalking, lurking in the shadows. I’m a teacher, Gavrin. I teach kids how to survive in this new world, not how to deal with spying rodents.”

I looked at Fernando. “What’s your side of the story, fluffy butt?”

“Well, boss.” Fernando looked worried as he started to explain. “I was down that I couldn’t find those bandits and I thought that maybe my perception was just too low. So I started looking for people who had stealth abilities. I thought if I practiced watching them, my perception skill would go up?” He explained hesitantly.

“Huh.” I said. “Did it work?” I looked towards Evelynn.

“I think. I caught him because my stealth skill was going up.” Evelynn admitted. “The last straw was last night. I was taking a shower and out of nowhere, my skill went up again.”

“I would like to apologize for my squirrel.” I began. “I have tried to teach my familiars about privacy but it is difficult.”

“It can’t be only the squirrel though.” Evelynn countered. “You are doing something.”

“Why do you think that?” I asked.

“Ever since you got back my stealth skills have been increasing at a crazy pace.” Evelyn explained. “You weren’t here and then you are and then my skills are going crazy. Explain that pervy man.”

I sighed. “I suppose it had to come out anyways. That is probably my skill verdant dominion. I can sense anything living inside my domain.”

“Well, there you are.” Evelynn smirked triumphantly.

I shook my head. “My domain stretches for miles in every direction. Unless you were doing something to attract my attention or were doing something unpleasant, there’d be no reason to be aware of you.”

“Wait, you sense everyone?” Evelynn asked. “That seems intrusive.”

“Meh.” I replied shaking my hand back and forth. “It’s annoying is what it is. Let my mind wander too much and I’m inundated with information I don’t need and don’t want.”

Evelynn finally took a sip of the juice, her eyes still narrowed as she mulled over what I'd just said. "So, let me get this straight. You have some kind of… what, psychic plant field? And it just picks up on everyone in the area?"

"Pretty much," I replied, shrugging. "It’s less 'psychic' and more 'nature-tuned.' Think of it like a spider web. Anything that moves or makes a disturbance, I can sense. But here’s the catch: I have to focus on it to really 'see' what's going on. Most of the time, it's just background noise."

Evelynn set her glass down, clearly not satisfied. "Background noise that includes me showering? Explain how that's just 'noise.'"

I glanced at Fernando, who was doing his best to look innocent. "Honestly, that's more on Fernando," I said, turning my attention back to her. "If he’s actively tracking you, that would make your presence ping louder in my mind. It’s not like I’m trying to peek into people’s lives. I've got enough on my plate without spying on folks. But the familiars… well, they amplify things."

"You need to get a handle on that," she shot back, folding her arms. "Not everyone wants to be part of your leafy surveillance network."

"I get that," I nodded. "Believe me, it's not all rainbows and sunshine. You think I want to know what half the town is up to at any given moment? I’d go insane. But my abilities are a double-edged sword. They help protect the village. If something dangerous approaches, I know about it. If bandits sneak around, I can sense them. It’s a matter of balance."

"Balance or not, it still feels… invasive," Evelynn muttered. "Is there no way you can turn it off?"

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I’ve tried. Trust me, I’ve tried. It’s like trying to turn off your sense of smell. You can ignore it for a while, but eventually, something strong enough will catch your attention. I can redirect it, filter out certain things, but I can’t just 'turn it off' completely."

Fernando, who had been listening intently, suddenly perked up. "Boss can filter, though. Like, we could work together to make it so sneaky types don’t trigger any pings, right? Unless it’s something really dangerous. Then, maybe, we set off an alert?"

I looked at him, impressed. "That's... actually a pretty good idea, Fluffy Butt. I could adjust the dominion to only react to certain levels of threat. If you’re just sneaking around teaching kids, it shouldn’t register. But if there's a genuine threat—like bandits, monsters, or some hostile presence—it’ll trigger alarms."

Evelynn tapped her fingers on the table, considering. "Alright," she finally said. "I suppose that’s a step in the right direction. But I still want some guarantees. If you can sense everyone in the village, you need to have some boundaries in place. I don’t care if it’s magic or not; people deserve their privacy."

I raised my hands in a gesture of surrender. "You’re not wrong, and I don’t disagree. I’ll work on refining my abilities to respect people’s personal space. Honestly, I’ve been so focused on the big picture—keeping everyone safe, monitoring threats—that I didn’t stop to think about the smaller, day-to-day implications."

Evelynn relaxed a bit, the tension in her shoulders easing. "Alright, I'll hold you to that, Gavrin." She glanced at Fernando. "And you. No more lurking around just to level up your skills, got it?"

Fernando gave a salute, looking uncharacteristically serious. "Understood, ma'am. I’ll find some other way to train my perception."

Evelynn turned back to me, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth. "And maybe next time you come up with some crazy plan, like an all-seeing tree surveillance network, you could give the rest of us a heads-up?"

I chuckled, raising my glass. "Deal. I promise, you'll be the first to know. Maybe we can even work together. Your stealth skills could come in handy, you know."

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "We'll see. Just keep that squirrel of yours in line."

With that, the tension finally broke, and the atmosphere in the room relaxed. I had dodged a bullet—for now. As I poured more juice, I couldn't help but think about what she’d said. Privacy. Boundaries. It was something I needed to figure out if I was going to keep using my powers for the good of the village.

"So, any other grievances you’d like to air?" I asked, grinning. "Now's the time."

Evelynn raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I’ve got plenty. But let's start small. How about you explain why I keep finding spider web balls in my garden?"

I groaned. "Loki, I swear…"