Solnus 14. Blue-Purple Clitoria Tea for Seira from a Company Symbolized by Euclid's Proposition III.17

2378 days, or 6 years, 6 months, and about 1 week before The Circumadversum Omatsuri, one afternoon.

Raka, the salesperson, had already answered several questions from visitors to his booth. As the booth name indicated, his company, NAVINAYA, was part of a group of companies called the NITI Group.

The name NAVINAYA comes from a combination of two Sanskrit words: "Navina" and "Vinaya." Navina means "new, modern, fresh, or something suitable for new ideas." Vinaya means "discipline, guidance, training, and good conduct, embodying modesty, self-control, and ethical behavior."

Several visitors to Raka's booth had asked about the meaning of his company name. They had found it interesting. Some of them said, "Perhaps the meaning of the words in the language from which this company's name originates isn't directly related to the products it sells, but the names are still related to the company's products."

However, from the visitors' body language and expressions, Raka could confirm that there was something else that attracted them far more than the company name. This was none other than one of NAVINAYA's products, an herbal drink made from the flowers of a plant called Clitoria ternatea.

Clitoria ternatea has many other, more popular names among the general public, including butterfly pea, bluebellvine, blue pea, cordofan pea, and Darwin pea. The genus name "Clitoria" is derived from the word "clitoris," where both "clitoria" and "clitoris" are derived from Latin. The plant is nicknamed "clitoris" because the shape of its flowers resembles the vulva, the outermost part of the female genitals.

A Polish naturalist named Jakób Breyne was the first to make reference to the plant's genus name. This appeared in his 1678 notes, which included an illustration of the plant. In the notes, the plant was named in Latin "Flos clitoridis ternatensibus," meaning "Ternatea flower of the clitoris."

Meanwhile, the species name "ternatea" from the scientific name Clitoria ternatea was coined by botanist Carl Linnaeus. Linnaeus chose the name based on the name of the island where his specimen of the plant was found. The specimen originated from Ternate Island, an island within the Republic of Indonesia in the northern Maluku Islands.

The single flower, a bright dark blue with light yellow spots, is arguably the most striking feature of Clitoria ternatea. However, this plant's flowers are not limited to dark blue; some varieties have pink and white flowers. The flowers are about four centimeters long and three centimeters wide.

Clitoria ternatea is a climbing plant that thrives in moist or slightly moist soil with good drainage. Its native habitat is Southeast Asia, South Asia, parts of Africa, and the Cape Verde Islands. It is widespread and naturalized in humid and sub-humid plains.

Besides its flowers, which can be used as a brew, this plant offers other benefits, including the following: it can be used to decompose nitrogen-rich plant material, improving soil quality; it can be used for revegetation; and it can be used as an ornamental plant to enhance aesthetics.

The profile and origin of the name Clitoria ternatea are frequently asked questions by visitors to Raka, the salesperson. However, the most frequently asked question concerns the benefits of Clitoria ternatea flower infusion.

Raka answers this by providing readers with a flyer with a QR code that provides a download link. The download link contains a file providing more information about Clitoria tea.

Every time Raka gives out a leaflet with a QR code, he says to potential buyers of his company's products, "I think you need it, because there is a lot of information you need to know, for example, how to process this tea and, of course, the various benefits of herbal tea from this flower."

When asked by visitors to his booth, Raka could fluently list the benefits of the brewed beverages he offered. Some of the things he could say were, "Increases skin elasticity and collagen production, helps burn fat and improve digestion, lowers hypertension, contains high levels of antioxidants, maintains brain health, and helps improve mood."

However, Raka also realized that he could list the many benefits of a particular plant preparation, but what truly caught people's attention was its "presentation," or appearance. Regarding appearance, Raka believed that the Clitoria ternatea flower brew was superior.

Clitoria ternatea tea is initially bluish in color. However, if you add lemon to the brew, the pH of the brew changes, causing the color to turn purple.

"Wow, great, great," Matsuri praised as she watched Raka demonstrate how Clitoria ternatea tea transforms when lemon is added.

From two small, clear glasses for demonstration, Raka poured the brew into food-grade paper cups lined with a waterproof material. Raka handed four cups to Matsuri and Seira, each girl receiving two. One cup was the tea brew without lemon, and the other cup was the tea brew with lemon.

Matsuri expressed her delight, "Delicious! This is quite good."

Meanwhile, Seira displayed an expression that indicated she truly enjoyed the tea brewed with Clitoria ternatea flowers. Seira stated, "This is very delicious. I think this tea could become my regular drink."

Raka was naturally pleased with Seira's statement. He then said something that made Seira even more enamored with the blue-purple tea: "You could also add almond extract to this brew."

Seira commented, "Almonds? That's my favorite food. I also really like lemon. This is a combination of three of my favorite foods and drinks. I'm even more convinced this tea could become my regular drink."

Raka was naturally even more delighted by Seira's statement. However, as a good salesperson, Raka still warned his potential regular customer, "If you drink too much of the brew, you might experience side effects like diarrhea and nausea."

Seira commented, "Oh, I see. Well, if we drink anything in excess, whether it's coffee, soda, or whatever, it's equally bad."

Raka nodded with a smile. When the salesperson was about to ask if Seira would buy NAVINAYA tea, Seira suddenly asked something Raka hadn't expected.

Seira asked, "Is Raka-san's company logo inspired by Proposition 17 from Volume III of the Elements by the father of geometry, Euclid?"

Raka didn't immediately respond to the question; his brow furrowed, while the rest of his body remained silent.

Instead, Matsuri responded immediately, "Eh, eh, eh, what did I say, Sei-can? Geometry?" Matsuri was still able to uphold her agreement with Seira not to call each other "princess" if other people were involved or nearby in their conversation.

Seira turned to look at her friend. "Yes. I was talking about math."

That's when Raka seemed to break free from his "freeze" for a few seconds. He clutched his waistband with both hands. Then the long-haired man smiled and responded to Seira's last question, "Yes. Miss, what you said is true."

Before explaining further, Raka asked, "But, miss, if I may ask, you seem to know a lot about Euclid? Do you like reading Euclid's works?"

Matsuri, responding to a question that hadn't been asked, spoke at length, lavishing praise on her, "My friend Seira Ito Fotiou is the best math student in my school. She says math is a hobby, not a burden. She represented our school at the international level. Unfortunately, her focus is divided by her other hobby, music."

Raka smiled, nodding his head, and said, “I see.” He then continued the conversation, “Miss Fotiou, out of all the visitors, you’re the only one who asked about that symbol. It seems you’d be happy if I explained our company symbol, NAVINAYA.”

Raka explained, "The symbol was the idea of ​​the founder of the NITI Group, someone we call 'Pakdhe Sam,' and the most exact translation I think is 'Ojisan Sam,' with the first kanji written as a kanji that resembles 'the letters one' and 'two squares stacked together.' Or, if translated into English, the most accurate translation would be "Older Uncle Sam."

Raka confirmed Seira's guess: "And indeed, the NAVINAYA symbol was inspired by Euclid's Elements, and as Ms. Fotiou said, specifically from Volume III, Proposition 17."

Seira seemed to be listening intently to Raka's information. Raka explained, "I'm sure Ms. Fotiou still remembers that the proposition discusses 'how to draw a straight line touching a given circle from a given point.' I'm sure Ms. Fotiou already knows the steps to achieve Quod Erad Demonstrandum in that proposition."

Seira continued to listen, while Matsuri seemed to be losing her focus. As Raka explained, Matsuri alternately looked at her friend and the booth attendant.

Raka said, "The proposition concerns points and tangents. Points, tangents, and tangent points."

Raka explained, "The philosophy for our company is that an arbitrary point represents society or consumers, while a circle represents the values ​​our company deems desirable, one of which, and most importantly, is a healthy lifestyle. As a company, we can only encourage the public to "touch" our values. We cannot force them to follow us because we are not a state."

Seira responded, "That's the philosophy." She then asked, "If I may ask, does Raka-san also seem to enjoy reading Euclid?"

Raka answered in English, "Right," while his right index finger, left index finger, and left thumb joined to form a right triangle.