"If I have any backlash at all I can't... read. Also there are other problems but that's the one that I notice first and most permanently. So if I need to use my powers ever for anything - if somebody'st trying to do murders and no local superheroes fly in to rescue the victims - well, I actually didn't get as far as coming up with a nonlethal response I could've attempted in that situation specifically, but in principle -"

"You could think of lethal responses?"

"I mean, now that I am not in an unexpected emergency situation with human enemies which I'm not used to I could think up future possible nonlethal responses, though I think probably without some serious workshopping I will land somewhere on the scale 'ineffectual against empowered' and 'somebody loses a limb'. My usual habit when I want to do damage is to shoot things, because the power I can use to do direct damage is so backlash-expensive - I can go through stuff, and that includes things I'm wearing or holding, so if I put an object through somebody and let it go, they have the object wherever I left it."

"My guess is that can be used to disable an empowered if you place an object inside of a limb, probably not permanently though the details might matter. Permanently disabling or killing a noble, particularly an empowered, would be considered an escalation beyond the typical fights between villains and heroes." 

"Well, if I were going to do this I'd do it invisible, but I will take it into account if the escalation is considered unwise even by people who are clear on it being inexcusably appalling to go around murdering random commoners for no reason."

"I think that such escalations can easily result in one being prevented from doing further good, and that you can manage a non-trivial portion of the benefit by temporarily disabling or capturing villains. Also, I don't expect Metcalfe was intent on murdering them, though his actions were certainly appalling."

"Perhaps I'm reading too much into the 'hunting' cover story. I have no clear idea what he had in mind. Does demons running in families cut down at all on noblemen taking advantage of their servants and random commoner women?"

"I expect he intended robbery rather than murder."

"It's not unknown but I'm unsure how common it is since it is not often discussed and records are not kept."

"And then you get commoner bastards turning up with superpowers, presumably."

"I suspect you mostly end up with wild demons and dead commoners - I haven't heard of more than a handful of instances of commoners with superpowers, and that was after a great deal of searching on my part."

"Because they don't know how to deal with them or because their paternal relatives show up to murder them for being inconvenient?"

"They don't know how to deal with them - some of the deaths might be due to the paternal relatives but some might be other commoners shunning them due to the danger brought on by demons."

Well. What is there to say to that besides something stupid like "I'm really skeptical that it's a good idea for demons to exist". They didn't ask for them any more than his world asked for dungeons. Maybe when there is birth control in this universe and a supply of espers to manage anyone trying to fill the power vacuum, demons can be stamped out. "Uh-huh," he says.

"... Don't mention this to others but I've anonymously published some documentation on how to handle having a demon without it becoming wild, though I'm not sure how many commoners have actually read it."

"What's the literacy rate like?"

"Any given town will have a few people who can read and more than half of the men in London can do so."

"Could be worse, not good enough."

"I expect that the majority of those who interact with nobility fairly often can read, and they're most at risk of having empowered children."

"I hope you're right."

Nod.

"You're going to have to be careful to avoid contact with empowered since you'll register as empowered yourself."

"I guess so. Fortunately gloves are in fashion."

"For women, not men - at least during this season."

"Heck. Okay."

"You could claim it's a Narnian custom and the reason why didn't have any last time was because you were having trouble finding acceptable men's gloves? It would be a bit strange but not untenably so."

"I might be able to just hide from the sense in question at far less risk of a slipup so long as I'm getting any guiding ever to compensate. May I check with you?"