Death Anniversary of the Founder of the Two-Leaf Ginkgo Sect, Socrates’ Poison Spoon, and Goroawase (Number-Word Game)

“Wissenmeister Herzwarm was a member of a sect that attended the Soki event. What did Wissenmeister Schonewolken know about it?” Langfelder asked.

I explained what I knew: “Mr. Warm is indeed still a member of a sect in the country of Zeppenhigen. But I need to clarify: what is meant by a sect in that country, when compared to here, is more appropriately called a ‘school.’ A sect is a form of interpretation and practice that differs within a broader religious tradition.”

“Okay. What does Wissenmeister Schonewolken know about it?” Langfelder repeated his last question.

I explained, “Mr. Warm joined that Soki activity about three months ago; he came to the country of Zeppenhigen. The sect that held the Soki is called ‘Ichoonoha Nimai’ or ‘Two Ginkgo Leaves.’ As far as I know, it is a sect that is close to several high-ranking officials of Zeppenhigen. I once saw Mr. Warm posting a photo showing himself, his younger brother, the head of Two Ginkgo Leaves, and one of the ministers in the country.”

Langfelder asked, “What activities does Wissenmeister Schonewolken know about the sect?”

I shrugged, then said, “Not much. As far as I know, there is nothing strange about it. As far as I know, they sponsor a lot of literacy events. Mr. Warm only told me a little about the sect.”

Langfelder asked, “What did Wissenmeister Herzwarm tell you about?”

I said, “Mr. Warm said he became a member because his grandmother’s family was a member of the sect for generations. Mr. Warm said he was fine with being a member and had no plans to leave, stating that he was a ‘cultural member,’ not a ‘literal member,’ and that the group did a lot of good things.”

Langfelder asked, “According to Wissenmeister Schonewolken, the sect could not have been the cause—if indeed—of Wissenmeister Herzwarm’s mental distress?”

“That’s it,” I said.

Langfelder continued, “In the next paragraph, the name Socrates is mentioned. I know that was a great thinker in ancient times; arguably, he is like a member of the Big Five of our time. But I can’t remember, did Socrates die because he drank poison?”

I explained, “Yes. Socrates died because he was sentenced to death by being forced to drink poison. The punishment was given because his thoughts were thought to have made the people disbelieve in the gods and mislead the people of Athens—the city-state where Socrates lived at the time.”

Langfelder did not ask about Abschiedssouper and the phrase "and I have given up the spoon." He already understood that Abschiedssouper means 'farewell supper' or 'goodbye dinner.' While in our language it is 'und ich habe den Löffel aufgegeben.' The phrase 'Den Löffel abgeben' is usually used to express that someone is dying or has died.

I then explained to Langfelder a little about Apollonius of Perga with the opening sentence, "Actually, not many details are known from the life of a mathematician named Apollonius of Perga. I told him that Apollonius of Perga was nicknamed "The Great Geometer" and was one of the three great mathematicians of ancient times—the other two mathematicians were Euclid and Archimedes.

I explained that the Apollonius of Perga asymptote refers to any line that does not intersect a given curve.

“Next, it has to do with Zeppenhigen culture,” Langfelder said.

The policeman stated, “There’s the word ‘soki’ again in another part of the letter. This time it has a different meaning. As far as I know, there are many homophones in Zeppenhigen culture.”

“That’s it,” I responded briefly.

Langfelder expressed his knowledge again, “Then, about the number 74 called nanashi, I know what it is. I’ve watched several Zeppenhigen movies and cartoons—what they call anime. One of their cultures is that each number can be pronounced differently.”

I said, “That’s right. It’s called goroawase. Goroawase is a wordplay that utilizes the script and nuances of the Zeppenhigen language by imitating the sounds or tones of existing words, phrases, or proverbs. Here, the number 7 is referred to as ‘nana,’ and ‘shi’ is the number 4. In addition to the number 74, the word nanashi can also mean the word written in this letter.“

Langfelder moved on to the next topic, “Then in this section, in the sentence ‘my life that has been demonstrated.’ Previously, Wissenmeister Schonewolken explained about QED, right?”

I confirmed, “Yes. QED is an abbreviation of quod erat demonstrandum. Demonstrandum can be translated as demonstrated.”

After catechizing me about Mr. Warm’s suicide letter, Langfelder still asked many questions. One of Langefelder’s questions was, “What did Wissenmeister Schonewolken know about Realpolitik and the Five, and what did Wissenmeister Schonewolken think about it?”

(***)

I found Gaetano Glanzrad Ragunanzu sitting on a chair. Our examinations, which took place in separate rooms, seemed to have finished in a similar period. I’m sure Nanzu was also tested with a lie detector and recorded from start to finish.

“Hey, Sconeken,” Nanzu greeted me as soon as I was in front of him.

I replied, “You can probably guess what’s on my mind.”

Nanzu replied, “You’ll ask what you’re going to do after this. To that question, my answer is, I’m tired. I’ll have supper and spend the night in Munich and then return to my family tomorrow morning.”

I said, “You can probably guess that I’m going to ask: It seems like you were looking at your gadget earlier; what’s the news?”

Nanzu replied, “I’ll answer: I saw it in the Five group. There are two members who have been questioned by the police here. I’d like to ask you something about having dinner together.”

I asked, “And their answers?”

Nanzu replied, “Weilongluck and Schellhahn said, ‘Let’s go, and we agreed.”

I commented, “Then let’s go.”

Nanzu and I immediately rushed. While walking, I confirmed, “You came here by ride-hailing from the airport, right? Now, just take my car.”

“Yes,” Nanzu answered briefly while operating his gadget.

At that time I also walked while operating my gadget. We used the electronic device for the same purpose, which was to find a hotel to stay at tonight. A few seconds later, I asked, “Have you found one?”

“I chose a room at the Hotel Drei Weltkugeln,” Nanzu said.

“Hey, I chose that place too,” I informed.

Nanzu said, “So later you don’t need to take me to a different place. Now I’ll chat with Weilongluck and Schellhahn, where we’ll eat together.”

Just a few seconds after Nanzu and I got into my car, Nanzu reported, “We’ve agreed to Auerbach’s Sky Terrace.”

I commented, “Good choice. Take you there right away, Wissenmeister Ragunanzu.”

As soon as my car left the police station, Nanzu commented, “That place, and the business we just faced, it seems like that’s what made us feel so really tired.”

I agreed, “Yes. When we were in college and working in the laboratory, we often did activities that required much more energy. But what we just experienced is something new that makes us mentally stressed.”

“That’s it,” Nanzu said. A few seconds later, he continued the conversation, “By the way, in front of the police, I already said in my opinion—or rather, according to my educated guess and my feeling—Mr. Warm did not die of suicide. Even though they showed us ‘that device’ and the letter that they said was Mr. Warm’s last message.”

“Me too,” I said.

At that moment, the car stopped at an intersection because the traffic light was red. Nanzu asked, “Schoneken, you may have thought what I thought. Look at those people outside; they don’t know what’s inside the car. Maybe—we don’t know what Mr. Warm feels, just as those people don’t know what’s inside the car.”

I replied, “You’re saying that even though what we ‘want’ is for Mr. Warm not to commit suicide, it’s not impossible, right?”

Nanzu said, “Yes, that’s how it is.”

There was no further conversation for a while. As the car rolled along a roundabout junction, I blurted out what I was thinking: “If this wasn’t suicide, if Mr. Warm’s death was murder… Could it be that the murder was related to the Quietus Cloud research?”

Nanzu didn’t comment. I didn’t try to prolong the conversation either. At that point, our conversation had ended as the car continued to drive us to Auerbach’s Sky Terrace.