"You haven't used your ability on them, and besides, you haven't even touched them before, right?"
With a quick glance, Sherwin knew exactly what Baccarat was thinking.
"Eh?"
Before Baccarat could figure out how Sherwin knew about her fruit ability, she heard him speak again:
"However, next I want you to try using your fruit ability to control their luck... Besides absorbing luck, can you grant good luck to others?"
"...I'm sorry, but I can't."
Baccarat didn't dwell on it further, shaking her head as she replied, "The Luck-Luck Fruit only allows me to become lucky myself.
I can't grant good luck to others that is determined by the rules of the fruit itself... perhaps I could do it after my ability awakens."
"What a pity..."
Sherwin clicked his tongue in regret. Originally, he thought if Baccarat could grant luck to others, he could have her transfer Klee Meow good luck to him whenever he opened blind boxes or drew cards in the future.
As for waiting for Baccarat fruit to awaken... Sherwin felt the hope was slim.
Fruit awakening was inherently difficult, and Baccarat didn't seem like someone with extraordinary talent.
Moreover, though there was no definitive proof, Sherwin felt that Devil Fruits generally followed the principle that "the more unique the ability, the harder the awakening." An ability like the Luck-Luck Fruit, which was very hard to counter, likely had an incredibly high difficulty for awakening.
Even though the plan to become an artificial Luck King had failed before it even started, Sherwin experiment had to continue.
First, Sherwin had Baccarat try to absorb Touma Meow luck...
"Try to absorb as little as possible. I'm worried that if you suck away the last bit of luck he has left, he might just drop dead on the spot," Sherwin "reminded" her with a bit of a wicked sense of humor as he pushed Touma Meow toward Baccarat.
He wasn't actually worried about Touma Meow dropping dead. While Devil Fruit abilities were unreasonable, it was impossible for an unsolvable ability to exist.
If the fruit truly caused someone to be so unlucky that they died instantly, Luffy would have kicked the bucket the first time his luck was stolen, and the Luck-Luck Fruit wouldn't be so obscure among the Paramecia types.
Besides, weren't Haibara Meow and Vermouth right there? There would certainly be enough time to save Touma Meow.
"Wa-wait a minute! So the dangerous thing Sherwin wants to test is this Meow?! Stop! I don't want to die yet Meow!"
∑(=`Д=)
The little cow-patterned Felyne, who hadn't cared much before, immediately began to struggle with all his might.
The reason he had been calm earlier was that Touma Meow felt since he was already so unlucky, things couldn't possibly get any worse even if his luck were absorbed. But after hearing Sherwin words, he realized things weren't as simple as he had imagined.
However, struggling was already too late Baccarat ungloved hand had already touched his furry head, and then...
Nothing happened.
"I... don't seem to be able to absorb any luck at all," Baccarat murmured uncertainly, slowly withdrawing her hand.
While she couldn't precisely track the specific consumption of the luck she absorbed, she usually felt a sensation during the process. Just now, however, she felt absolutely nothing...
Thinking about the "luck" Touma Meow had displayed, Baccarat gaze toward the little cow-patterned Felyne was suddenly filled with disbelief and pity it was her first time encountering a being that didn't have a single shred of good luck on them.
"Your eyes are being too rude! I am just... just a little unlucky Meow! I've already gotten used to it, waaaaah..."
(=QДQ=)
Touma Meow began to wail as he spoke, overcome with a sudden surge of grief.
Sherwin stroked his head to offer comfort while keeping a sharp eye on Baccarat.
She didn't seem to show any signs of misfortune.
It appeared that absorbing Touma Meow luck did not result in her own luck turning sour as well.
Sherwin sighed inwardly, feeling a twinge of disappointment.
Indeed, the true subject of this experiment wasn't Touma Meow, but Baccarat.
Although their relationship with Tesoro was decent, the man had ultimately succumbed to darkness.
Guided by the principle that one must always be on guard, the ever-cautious Hunter naturally wanted to test the limits of Baccarat, whose ability he considered the most troublesome.
Unfortunately, the plan to neutralize Baccarat by using Touma Meow as a counter-piece was not going to work.
Then again, it made sense Baccarat had eaten the Luck-Luck Fruit, so she naturally only absorbed good luck.
If she could absorb misfortune along with it, it shouldn't be called the Luck-Luck Fruit, but rather the Fortune-Fortune Fruit or the Fate-Fate Fruit.
"Why don't you try absorbing Klee luck next?"
Sherwin pulled back Touma Meow, who was still reeling from Baccarat words, and pushed Klee Meow forward.
At first, Baccarat didn't think much of it and simply reached out to hold the small paw the little Ragdoll offered. However, after holding it for a while, a look of astonishment once again appeared on her face.
"So... so much luck! I still haven't finished absorbing it all!"
"Hehe~ Klee really is that amazing, meow!"
(=`=)
The little Ragdoll stood with one hand on her hip, tilting her head back triumphantly.
After another moment, Baccarat finally let go of her own accord and spoke in disbelief, "The amount of good luck I can absorb has reached its limit, yet I can feel that little Klee luck hasn't even hit bottom..."
"No time like the present. Why don't you two compete? Let see who can roll the highest."
Sherwin took two dice from the dealer and handed them to Baccarat and Klee Meow.
The woman and the Felyne tossed their dice at the same time. After tumbling for a bit, both dice landed with the six facing up.
"Wow! It a tie, meow!"
(=＞＜=)
Klee Meow was very excited about this just like her first experience with "losing" before, this was also her first time encountering a "Luck King" who could actually tie with her.
On the other side, Baccarat looked as though this were only to be expected. After all, Klee Meow "luck" was simply bottomless.
It was precisely because Baccarat had experienced explosive luck more than once that she understood better what a true Luck King looked like.
"Mm, continue."
Sherwin remembered that the luck Baccarat absorbed would eventually be consumed, so he wanted to see how long she could maintain this stalemate with Klee Meow.
As for the possibility of Klee Meow losing, Sherwin had completely stopped considering it once he realized Baccarat couldn't drain her luck all at once.
Unlike Baccarat, whose luck would run out, Klee Meow good fortune had existed since the moment she was born.
Since Baccarat fruit ability couldn't suck the little Ragdoll dry of her luck in one go, there was absolutely no way she could defeat Klee Meow in a contest of fortune.
In fact, Klee Meow was even more formidable than Sherwin had estimated. By only the second roll of the dice, Baccarat could no longer hold on...
This time, she only rolled a two, while Klee Meow remained at a six.
"Meow, looks like Klee won meow."
(=ω=)
Having won, the little Ragdoll actually became quite calm after all, she had long since become numb to this kind of outcome.
"How is this possible?!"
Baccarat, however, could not remain calm. She looked at the harmless-looking Klee Meow with a face full of terror.
While developing her fruit ability, Baccarat had conducted various tests. When she was fully charged with luck, even if she hit the jackpot on a slot machine twice in a row, her luck wouldn't be completely exhausted she would still be able to win several smaller prizes or guess the dice correctly a few more times.
But this time, just by tying with Klee Meow once, her stored luck had been completely drained. Meanwhile, the other party luck was still as vibrant as if the Goddess of Fortune herself had been reborn...
This was the first time since Baccarat ate the Luck-Luck Fruit that she had encountered an existence that could completely suppress her in terms of luck.
As expected, a man-made Luck King still couldn't compare to a Heaven-sent Luck King.
Sherwin nodded with satisfaction and then decisively led the Felynes away from the gambling table.
He had come here simply to test the situation of the two "Luck Felynes" and the limits of the Luck-Luck Fruit. Now that the test was over, he had no interest in these gambling games.
The Felynes felt the same guessing dice held even less appeal for them than the nearby carousel.