After Alfred arrived back on the island with many supplies, Alyssia and the others took them off his hands ready to to begin with their experiments.
The several test subjects were moved into the underground laboratory during the night and kept in a private lab that belonged to the previous leader that nobody could gain access to unless she allowed it.
Some blueprints of various easy to make products were passed onto Alfred to begin the producing them.
She sat opposite him who now dressed in thick and warm clothing and spoke. "These are the product ideas that I wish to be made and put on sale soon. I also hope that you can continue to watch the black market and other places for various item, people or other rare species. What I am in need of right now is a King Bull and various other talented or famous individuals, maybe the occasional handsome or beautiful man or woman to be used for advertising clothing. Let the children on the ship model for the children's wear. How is the progress looking for a musician or singer?"
Alfred shook his head. "We have found no one with musical talents yet but I have tried contacting some known artists but they wished to see the products before agreeing to any sort of deal. King Bulls are rare but there will occasionally be one to appear on the black market but it will cost a lot. Are you sure that you wish to spend so much right now? It seems as if you are going to burn through most of your berries this way."
Alyssia shook her head. "The berries can be made back through our businesses when they begin to turn in some profits but if we are really desperate then we can always make something very rare and expensive to push to the nobility. I can imagine that the others on Water Seven must have already settled down and are earning some berries of their own. If they get desperate for money then they can target some troublemaking pirates and collect the bounty while selling the ship and the rest of the belongings for some extra berries. They just need to be wary not to clash too much with the Franky family who do the same."
Alyssia was rich enough and was burning through most of what she had earned so there would still be enough left over to put into some projects and living expenses with what remained.
By the time she began to become a poor person, the berries should have started coming in from the merchant group under Alfred so she could afford to keep spending her berries on some more expensive items like a King Bull.
Alfred had done the calculations and agreed. "Then that is fine, knowing you.. you will probably go hunting Sea Kings or stealing ships from pirates just to make some extra berries."
Alyssia smirked. "Heh, you know me so well."
Alfred paused for a while before asking. "What about the others? Is there any changes that you wish to make to the arrangements for who will join each ship?"
Alyssia answered after thinking it over for sometime. "Carrot may be a little restless in Water Seven but she is needed to look over the others and protect them if anything goes wrong. Archie is where he needs to be but Tristan can go anywhere so long as she can study and practice her skills as a doctor so if possible you can let her follow you along with Medea for now. I am sure that when I have improved my abilities, Tristan may be needed by my side to help keep Medea stable while she undergoes treatment. However it will be yours and her own decision if she will undergo the procedure."
Alfred frowned. "You had mentioned briefly about this before but what exactly did you have in mind for my daughter? Will it be painful or dangerous to her life?"
Alyssia nodded. "Your daughter is broken so badly beyond repair that medicines and surgery cannot correct her body. She will be in pain and live with a disability for life. In this world her chances of survival will be low unless she is prepared to take some risks to help herself have the ability to protect herself."
She passed on a blueprint that showed a rough outline of Alyssia's current abilities showing what looked like a metal skeleton model inside a human body shape and several other things that formed an outer body shell and some hidden tools and weaponry built in. "This is what should be possible now but if I focus on the inner parts as a priority then replacing the outer parts and changing various attachments later as my skill increases will be possible. This is why I need Tristan by my side to assist since she knows Medea's condition better than anyone."
Alfred looked at the designs and paled. "Will the final outcome even be my daughter in the end? How much does she need to sacrifice just so that she can walk or be like everyone else?"
Alyssia tapped the table impatiently. "It seems as if you are underestimating your daughter too much, she has the heart of a fighter so do you honestly believe she will be happy remaining as she is? She has survived so much so far so I have confidence in her ability to survive this too. Although I am asking for your opinion, in the end her final choice will be the determining factor."
Alfred had a pained look on his face but then became determined. "If she decides to take his path, as a father I have to follow her and undergo the same. I cannot leave my daughter to endure everything alone."
A crafty look appeared in Alyssia's eyes. "Then you need to earn lots of berries to pay for both you and your daughter's transformation. Once you begin, there will be no more opportunities to back out so think it over properly. I believe your daughter prefers the sword so her modifications will be easy to manage but yours will need additional assistance so that you can be made to suit your own style of combat."
Alfred bowed his head. "So far the cane has helped me protect myself so I have hardly ever had to struggle too much with others, I have also been well protected so I have had even less opportunities to find out where my talents lie."