After everything had been finalised, Alfred left the island and began to use the berries provided by Alyssia to start up the many business ventures.
The samples of the headphones were taken with him to meet with several potential buyers that would need them and through his networks he was able to find a couple of up and coming musicians.
Those that were in the process of writing a new single or album wished to do business with him right away so that they could be the ones to first release their music with the release of the finished product and have them transported to many different islands further increasing their fame.
Alfred laid back in his chair with a tired look on his face and many documents were laid out orderly in front of him.
He reached out and picked up a Sea Snail and began to talk after hearing the 'gacha' noise. "Alyssia, you have really made it hard for me recently but I have been successful and made some connections. If you hold up on your end of the deal then we should have a successful partnership which will bring us a lot of berries."
The voice on the other side sounded pleased but turned serious as she asked. "Good job, I knew that I could leave it to you. Did you find any up and coming musicians?"
He had a list of several different names in front of himself so as he looked through them along with the portraits, he replied. "I have found a couple but among the singers, there are two that are new to the scene but have no manager or supporter yet. One seems to be putting off accepting any offers until she finds the right opportunities to rise and gain more fame and wealth but the other has a kind and ditsy personality but is a newcomer who has yet to be given a chance. They are both quite young but talented individuals that may be worth approaching."
Alyssia's voice was silent as she listened then she replied. "Names? Appearance? How is their reputation?"
Alfred read out from the information and explained what he saw from the portrait. "The first is called Carina, she is a slim woman with light purple hair and blue eyes. She works as a songstress and is very popular and her fans love her but her current actions suggest that she is very greedy. It may be difficult to approach her unless we are prepared to pay a lot. Her past is also a mystery so it is difficult to guess if she can be trusted."
Alyssia on the other side heard the name and description of the person and thought to herself. 'If this person really exists then it means that non canon characters also exist and some filler or movie plots may or may not happen depending on how they fit in with the structure of the world. If that is the case then the world is a lot more complex than I had initially thought.'
Since she had been secluded on Zou for the first sixteen years of her life, information about the world had been cut off for her and she was unable to understand the power structure of the world.
If the Neo Navy and other people like Gild Tesoro and Douglas Bullet were also a part of this world then things may not be so predictable as she had first thought.
She went silent in thought for a while then spoke. "We can offer her opportunities and support along with extra benefits from promoting her with the Tone Dial products but we cannot offer her any signing bonuses up front. It needs to be a monthly contract or paid after every performance or appearance to avoid any issues with her taking the berries and disappearing."
Carina was a thief that was as good as Nami or even better, in the future she may even find herself going after Gild Tesoro's berries if given the opportunity so it was risky to employ her.
However someone with high potential usually have their own risks and quirks involved so she could not say no completely.
Someone like Carina needed to be given a chance to fulfil her greed but not be given any chances to disappear with the berries without performing her duties.
She would also not have contact with Alyssia or other parts of the business so she would have a hard time stealing anything of value from Alyssia or those on her crew.
Alyssia calmly asked. "What about the other one?"
Alfred's voice sounded a little more positive as he read out the other person's details. "Her name is Ann, she is a young girl who is still in her teens. She has very curly light green hair, purple eyes and freckles. She is known for being a nice and ditsy girl but is known to be very bright and full of energy by those that are her fans. Most of her popularity has been gained because she is in possession of a Devil Fruit and uses it to liven up her performances. The main problem that she has is her age and inexperience."
Alyssia smiled upon hearing the description. "Do not let this one slip through our fingers and find a way to approach her and sign her up to a long term contract. Provide her with a manager and a bodyguard too. Put in the contract that we will not restrict her creative freedom but if we have some suggestions or songs that we wish her to perform, we will ask her opinion first. Mention that we will also provide extra shelter from nobles and the slave trade so that she will never have to experience any trouble should we be approached by someone wishing to take advantage of her after she has gained some fame."
Ann had a lot of potential as an idol/diva and announcer but she also had a Devil Fruit that could produce illusions from pictures so her overall worth was very high.
Although she was in her teens and was very inexperienced right now, Alyssia knew that in the future she would be very popular and even appear at big events.
She was someone worth investing in but Alyssia did not wish to restrict or control her too much and ruin her before she even debuted properly.
However as her fame grew, more issues may present themselves like crazy fans, rich nobles or low lives wishing to exploit or harm her so she needed to receive proper protection from such things.
In the movie she was still lively so she must not have experienced much of the darkness of the world and was well protected most of the time but now that things were changing, it was best to protect her from such things.
A bad example would be the female dancer named Pascia from the South Blue, who was captured and taken to the human auction house to be sold for 7.2 million berries.
Once someone's fame and value increases, others may seek to exploit it.
Alfred made some sounds as he was making notes and asked. "Is there anything else?"
"Hmm..." Alyssia said. "If you can achieve that then try to put someone from the crew by her side so that we can create a closer connection to her. Her Devil Fruit will be of great use if we can get her to join us completely."
Creating illusions from a picture was a great ability to create confusion or to provide entertainment to others so it would come in useful at times when diversion or stalling tactics would be needed to creates opportunities in battle.
Although Alyssia did not know what kind of situations she would be involved in, she had to prepare for many possibilities now that the world around her seemed to be even more dangerous.
Alfred sounded a little tired while asking. "Then who should be her manager and bodyguard?"
Alyssia responded. "Pick someone who is quite idle among the crew to become her bodyguard but not someone overly threatening or unique in appearance. Just bring it up to those with you or those staying at Water Seven. For the manager... it may need someone with your abilities or good people skills."
Alfred responded. "Aizah has been learning under me recently so she may be a good person to place by her side as a manager and protector but I suggest someone with more muscle to protect them properly. How about Liushi?"
Alyssia responded with a positive tone. "Those two should work well together. Liushi has a simple personality but can handle a confrontation but often he can get caught up in the heat of battle. This environment will help him learn restraint and control over his emotions and strength but it will be good to have someone like Aizah by his side to be the one in control and give him orders. If things do become more dangerous then she can make use of her Dial guns as a last resort."
Aizah certainly had her own capabilities in combat but she was restricted from using her weapons in public places so Liushi would be the one to handle any trouble first.
Alyssia continued. "Those that are busy training or are idle can either help with protecting you while you are transporting the products between islands or they can take up some protection tasks as mercenaries. The Kungfu Dugongs and other creatures cannot stay too idle on Water Seven and also need to be put to use in some way"
On the other end, Alfred was taking notes and drawing up the tasks that he had to complete. "Alright then that should be more than enough for me to accomplish during the next couple of months. I will keep you updated on everything else you have requested once they begin recruiting and start production."
Alyssia responded. "Best of luck. I will be busy during this time so I may not be so easy to contact all of the time like now. Speak to you again later."
Another 'gacha' sound followed as the communication cut off between them leaving Alfred staring at the long list of responsibilities on his shoulders. "She really wishes to test my capabilities with all of this... however I cannot afford to fail."
A determined look appeared in his eyes as he looked down at the portrait of his daughter inside a locket around his neck. "If I could climb up from nothing back then, now it should be more than possible to start back up with the resources and plans that have been given to me to start with. I'd be a fool if I failed her expectations for me."
The pressure on his shoulders was heavy but since he had the trust of Alyssia and the desire to see his daughter's smile, he had no choice but to put to use all of his talents and experiences towards achieving success.