The villagers have been quite bothersome since I returned. It was interfering with my work. Diana kept "checking in" on me, claiming she was "concerned," but I saw through her lies. I see through them all. They simply want to benefit from my genius.
Luckily, I was able to distract them with a side project of mine, what I call Plant Species Z. I was studying the effects of charge on various flora, and stumbled upon a new species that can act as a bioluminescent sentry. They seemed to believe that this was the center of my research, and so I happily let my samples pass into their incompetent hands.
It's a paltry sum to pay for some much needed peace and quiet. Now it is just me and my Edmundium, as it should be.