No immediate lock, but Riya notes: “The star diagonal might emerge later.” Clue 4: (C3, C4) product odd → both numbers odd (since odd×odd=odd). So C3,C4 ∈ 1,3,5.
Riya slams the table. “Ah! That’s the trap. Clue 6 says ‘same number’ but that violates the row uniqueness. So either the puzzle allows duplicates (rare) or ‘same number’ means they are equal but then the row must have a duplicate — impossible. Therefore, clue 6 must be interpreted as ‘same symbol’, not same number!”
She checks the original text: Clue 6 actually says: (E1, E2): Same number. That’s impossible under standard rules. So either it’s a trick — meaning E1 and E2 are the same number, so the row has a duplicate, meaning the “each row has 1..5 once” rule is for numbers? Or the puzzle uses numbers 1-5 with repetition allowed? But that breaks Latin square. Elites Grid LRDI 2023 Matrix Arrangement lesson...
Clue 3: B2<C2.
Clue 4: C3,C4 both odd.
That fixes it. Now E1 and E2 share a symbol, say S_E. E4 and E5 differ by 2 in number.
She builds a trial grid:
Let’s try E4=1, E5=3 (diff 2). Then remaining numbers for row E: 2,4,5 for E1,E2,E3. But E1=E2 symbol same, numbers can be different. So possible.