Yongye did not answer immediately.
He turned his head and glanced at Kikyo, who was kneeling on the right side of the sofa.
The white-robed shrine maiden raised her eyes, her light brown gaze meeting his ardently. There was nothing in her eyes but a longing to connect with him.
Nothing else remained.
Yongye chuckled, picked his phone back up, opened his chat with Tony, and tapped out a few lines with his thumb.
"I saw the video. Those paid trolls are pretty professional at slinging insults."
"But if you expect me to risk my life fighting in Asgard for free, you're fucking dreaming."
"You'll have to pay extra."
After sending the messages, he tossed his phone back onto the coffee table and leaned against the sofa, his hands behind his head. His gaze passed through the floor-to-ceiling windows and settled on the distant Manhattan skyline, gilded a warm gold by the afternoon sun.
"Let them sweat."
"The more desperate they get, the more leverage I have."
Tamamo-no-Mae slid off the sofa, stepped barefoot onto the carpet, and walked over to crouch before him. Her long silver-white hair slipped from her shoulders, and the hem of her gauzy robe spread around her feet.
"Lord Yongye, aren't you worried about global public opinion?"
"Worried about what?" Yongye reached out and lightly flicked the pair of silver-white fox ears atop her head. They trembled beneath his fingertips like two tufts of tousled snow.
"Those trolls are all paid to post. Once I act, the tide will turn immediately."
"Public opinion is just a dog. Whoever feeds it best is the one it follows."
He paused, then picked up the remote and switched on the enormous laser projection screen in the living room.
The instant the screen lit up, Lois Lane's face appeared.