Solitary Sea-Beast

Solitary Sea-Beast is a World Quest in Inazuma.
==Starting Location==
Start the quest by talking to Kumi at the beach south of Watatsumi Island's Statue of The Seven.
World Quest Solitary Sea-Beast Location.png|Starting location
World Quest Solitary Sea-Beast Location Context.png|Additional context
==Steps==
# Talk to Kumi
# Give Kumi three Sakura Blooms
# Head to the Hilichurl camp in the west
# Rescue Anisa
#* Wave 1: 
#* Wave 2: 
# Talk to Anisa
# Solve the puzzle of the Watatsumi statue
#* Activate the one and two Monuments nearby.
#* Complete the Light-Up Tile Puzzle by lighting up all the tiles without walking over it twice or going off the tiles.
#* The Mysterious Pillar can be activated before starting the puzzle or in the midst of the puzzle.
#* Completing the puzzle gives an Exquisite Chest.
# Talk to Anisa
# Talk to Kumi
==Gameplay Notes==
* Completion of this quest will grant the .
* Talking to Kumi after finishing the quest and following a certain dialogue branch for the first time will give one Suspicious Omelette Rice.
* The Light-Up Tile Puzzle in step 6 can be solved in the following manner:
*# Activate the pillar.
*# Facing the pillar, stand on the starting tile and walk in the following direction over the specified number of tiles: Forward 3, Right 1, Forward 1, Right 3, Back 1, Left 1.
*# Deactivate the pillar.
*# Continue walking over the tiles: Back 2, Right 1, Back 1, Left 2, Forward 2.
==Dialogue==
;(Talk to Kumi)
:???: ...Ah, hello.
:???: Sorry, I got a little distracted...
:???: You guys are... unfamiliar faces. Sorry...I'm not very good at talking to strangers.
:???: Ah... sorry... I didn't mean to be rude, I'm just... Sorry...
: Just call me .
:Paimon: Paimon's name is Paimon, nice to meet you!
:Kumi: ...I'm Kumi, nice to meet you.
:Kumi: Sorry, I just... rarely chat with people.
:Kumi: May I ask... Is there anything I can help you with?
: About this carcass...
:Paimon: We were just wondering, what animal carcass is this...?
:Kumi: Oh...
:Kumi: Her name is Kuntira, she's sort of... my childhood friend.
:Paimon: Eh...?
: Good...friend?
:Kumi: This might sound silly... You may even think it's just my wishful thinking...
:Kumi: This skeleton is what my childhood friend left behind.
: Oh...
:Paimon: Oh...
:Paimon: Your friend was able to defeat such a huge sea creature... That's amazing!
: *coughing*
: (That's not what she meant...)
:Kumi: Ahem...
:Kumi: I mean, these are bones of my childhood friend. She's a sea creature.
:Paimon: Oh...
:Kumi: On Narukami Island — my father's hometown, people call these creatures "Umibouzu"...
:Kumi: It is also said that they often attack cargo ships on long voyages and will rob fishermen of their catch... So they are hunted down and killed by humans.
:Kumi: But over here — my mother's hometown — the locals would give each individual creature a unique name.
:Kumi: And she, my best friend... may have been the last of her kind.
: Is that right...
:Paimon: Wow...
:Kumi: The people of Watatsumi never gave her species a common name.
:Kumi: Because they think that... Just like us, each of them is a lonely individual.
:Kumi: Lonely, docile, indifferent to curiosity and hostility outside of their own world...
:Kumi: Alone, roaming in the currents. Alone, suffocating in the shallows.
: Huh...
:Paimon: How pitiful...
:Kumi: Don't think of it that way.
:Kumi: Intentionally or not, when you say words like "how pitiful," you're alienating yourself from the other person and their experience. It dismisses and trivializes their pain.
:Kumi: Only by empathizing with the other party's loneliness and pain, letting go of fear and defense, can we truly achieve understanding...
:Kumi: Perhaps that was why we happened to become friends back then.
:Kumi: Rather than alleviating each other's loneliness, we were enjoying the loneliness together, a solitude we both shared.
:Kumi: Its just that I have been away for a long time since I grew up. I finally had the opportunity to come back, only to realize that it's too late...
: ...
: I'm sorry to hear that.
:Kumi: It's okay, don't let me affect your mood.
:Kumi: Ah... excuse me, can you... Umm, never mind, it's nothing.
:Paimon: It's okay, just let us know!
: Do you need our help?
:Kumi: ...Yes, sorry to bother the both of you.
:Kumi: I cam from Narukami Island wanting to visit her and stay here for a while...
:Kumi: But as you can see, my best friend has passed away. The way home is also blocked by war... Maybe I'll be stranded even longer.
:Kumi: I wanted to...at least offer something to my best friend. She loves Thunder Sakura flowers.
:Kumi: But for safety reasons...I can no longer go back to the place where the Thunder Sakura grows.
:Kumi: If I could ask you guys for help... I'd be ever so grateful.
: We'll do our best.
: I'll bear that in mind.
:Kumi: Thank you very much, umm... Be careful when passing through the non-safe areas. I will pray for you here.
:Paimon: Miss Kumi, you're too polite!
----
;(Talk to Kumi)
:Kumi: ...
:Kumi: ...Ah, sorry, I didn't expect you guys to be back so soon.
: I brought what you asked for.
:;(Opens submission screen)
: It's nothing, we're still trying to look for the petals.
::Kumi: Thank you for your hard work, it's good to take a break here.
----
;(After submitting the Sakura Blooms)
:Kumi: Thank you so much! I knew I could count on you guys!
:Kumi: ...Mm, there are enough to make a wreath of flowers, thank you once again.
:Kumi: By the way... I have one more thing I want to ask of you, I don't know if you guys mind...
:Paimon: Since we've already helped you out, feel free to tell us, Miss Kumi!
: What happened?
: Do you need help?
:Kumi: ...It's like this. I heard from the elders of Bourou Village that there is hilichurl activity again on the beach to the west.
:Kumi: It so happens that a researcher from Sumeru passed by here the other day and is heading there... I think her name is Anisa, and she hasn't returned yet.
:Kumi: I'm quite worried about her...
:Paimon: That researcher... Is she your friend?
:Kumi: Are friends the only ones worth worrying about?
:Kumi: Sorry, I mean... I don't really know her well, but I'm just worried.
: I understand.
: I'll help find her.
:Kumi: Sorry to trouble you again... If it weren't for the fact that I can't handle myself in fights...
:Paimon: It's okay, you don't have to blame yourself! Let's just go help!
;(Talk to Kumi again)
:Kumi: Can I help you with anything?
: About Anisa...
:Kumi: She's a researcher from Sumeru. She's rather reckless, but she has a beautiful voice...
:Kumi: She said that her field of study was Oceanic Sanctuary Storage... something. I'm not sure what that's about, really.
:Kumi: But she seems to be very interested in that Watatsumi statue on the beach to the west...
: Watatsumi statue?
:Kumi: Mm-hmm. The village elder used to say that if we could solve the shrine maiden's puzzle, then "our heart's desire" would emerge.
:Kumi: Hehe, I used to believe that. Everyday, I would swim near that statue... That was actually how I met my good friend as well.
:Kumi: But I grew out of that a long time ago. I no longer believe in those stories.
:Kumi: Still, I can't help but feel happy for Anisa — that she still has so much interest and passion regarding these old legends.
:Kumi: I hope that she finds what she seeks...
:Kumi: Well, but before that, please find out if she's alright. Thank you very much.
----
;(Approach the camp)
:Anisa: Please, someone, save my thesis! If the hilichurls destroy it, I'm done for
:Paimon: Look! The researcher Kumi talked about is right over there!
;(Talk to Anisa after defeating the Hilichurls)
:Anisa: *panting* Phew... Thank you, if it weren't for your help, I'm afraid I would be dead...
: No need to thank us.
:Paimon: You're Anisa, right? Miss Kumi asked us to come!
:Anisa: Kumi...? Oh! It's that...local lass who looks a bit gloomy but is very nice, right?
: Lass...?
:Paimon: What a strange and flippant way to describe her
:Anisa: Hehe... Actually, I forgot her name. I really shouldn't have. I'll have to thank her properly later on.
:Anisa: Oh, yes, her name is "Kumi," right?
:Paimon: That's right! You shouldn't be a researcher with a memory like that!
:Anisa: Yes, I remember this time! Kumi, that's a cute name. Kumi...
: *coughing*
:Anisa: Ah, sorry, I didn't introduce myself, although you might already know...
:Anisa: I'm Anisa. Anisa Purbiruni. Trainee Dastur at Sumeru Akademiya's Oceanographic Society.
:Anisa: As for my surname, Purbiruni, it's because my academic lineage dates back five centuries to the great scholar, the sage Biruni.
:Anisa: Ah, every time I mention this, a pride that cannot be expressed in words wells up within me unbidden!
:Paimon: Man, she's like some rich girl bragging about her dad's money...
: Kumi's very worried about you.
:Anisa: Hehe...
:Paimon: What are you laughing about?
:Anisa: Nothing... I'm just a little embarrassed about making people worry about me...
:Paimon: Paimon's surprised that you can be embarrassed at all!
:Anisa: However, there are still things that I have yet to do. The research I have on hand has not yet borne fruit, and so I must hurry.
:Anisa: You know, the statues of Watatsumi here are the object of my research. The traditional beliefs of the people of Watatsumi are very fascinating.
:Paimon: Eh?
:Anisa: In antiquity, the priests... uh, I mean, shrine maidens of Watatsumi would place permanently-given offerings under memorials.
:Anisa: After that, they would protect those offerings with sophisticated mechanical puzzles or simple elemental techniques.
:Paimon: What?
:Anisa: This was originally a manner of protecting and storing objects that were offered...
:Anisa: But people gradually discovered the joys of solving puzzles for their own sake, and even considered this a way of communication with the now-deceased through one's intellect.
:Anisa: As such, the solving of puzzles became melded together with religious rituals, resulting a most unique tradition.
:Anisa: As such, apart from the usual offerings, "solving puzzles left by those who came before" and seeking the "desires of the heart" also became rituals of worship or divination.
:Anisa: Of course, the better part of this is my personal guesswork. If we want to be sure, we'll need to conduct a great deal of folklore studies.
: So, these "desires of the heart" are actually...
:Anisa: It's as you guessed. I'm referring to the riches offered to the statues of Watatsumi — the gifts of forebears to their descendants.
:Paimon: Riches!
:Anisa: By which I mean treasure, of course — treasure!
:Paimon: Treasure!
:Anisa: Your little companion seems to have a strong interest in my topic of study. How about it, then. Interested in lending me a hand?
: Paimon...
: What happened to my Paimon...
:Paimon: Come on, there's treasure! Let's just help out, shall we?
:Anisa: As for me, I'm not all that interested in treasure. I just need my research results.
:Anisa: It'll be great if you're willing to help. The treasure's all yours. Consider it your payment for helping me out!
:Paimon: Woohoo!
:Anisa: Woohoo!
: Please stop ignoring me!
: I'll consider it.
:Anisa: Oh, don't worry. Let's start right here!
;(Talk to Anisa before completing the puzzle)
:Anisa: It's fine if you can't solve it for now. The puzzle isn't going to run away or anything!
:Anisa: I'll be here too — so just relax.
;(Talk to Kumi before completing the puzzle)
:Kumi: Ah, it's you. Is there anything else I can help you with?
: We found Anisa.
:Kumi: Oh, thank you. How is she?
: She's in one piece and then some.
: She's just busy with her research topic.
:Kumi: Mmm, as long as she's alright... She can be really reckless, and it's very worrying.
:Kumi: I know that we're still practically strangers, but I wouldn't want to see anyone get hurt needlessly, especially at times like these...
:Kumi: Also, she... Never mind...
;(When the player fails puzzle for the first time)
:Anisa: Looks like we didn't follow the right steps. Let me write this down... Do you think we'll find some clues at the over there?
;(Upon activating the three Elemental Monuments)
:Anisa: We've activated it. Let's proceed!
;(When the player fails the puzzle after activating the Elemental Monuments)
:Anisa: That doesn't seem quite right, but oh well. Just give it a few more tries!
;(Upon completing the puzzle)
:Anisa: Look, we did it!
:Paimon: Hehe, treasure! Nice!
;(Talk to Anisa after completing the puzzle)
:Anisa: Well then, congratulations are in order!
: These are offerings, you know...
: Can we really take them?
:Anisa: Haha, it's fine. It's like I said, this is a symbol of "the heart's desire."
:Anisa: The forebears of this land left it to those who came after, as a symbol of faith and a token of trust. In fact, hmm, you could consider it a concrete way of "passing memories on."
:Anisa: So be at ease and just take it. It's yours by right.
:Anisa: The people of Watatsumi understood this very early on: the fruits of wisdom are to be given to those who respect it.
:Anisa: ...Just like you and me!
:Paimon: Does Paimon count too?
:Anisa: Of course! Thanks for your hard work!
: You're most welcome.
:Paimon: Ah, no need to be so formal!
:Anisa: *sigh* Still, this thesis I'm working on is such a headache.
:Paimon: Eh? Didn't you have a breakthrough already?
:Anisa: Well, yes. But I've spent far too much time on just one subject.
:Anisa: To formally become a Dastur as opposed to remaining a trainee, you need to have two different theses pass through the review stage...
:Anisa: I can ask for an extension, of course, but I do still need to find a second topic.
:Anisa: My second field of study is actually in marine biology, but due to the recent instability in Inazuma, I've had to call a halt to research on that front.
: Hmm, marine biology, you say...
: I just thought of something...
:Anisa: Eh? What is it?
:Paimon: Oh right! Miss Kumi's good friend!
:Anisa: Huh? Haha, I don't think she and I have gotten that far yet...
:Paimon: ...?
: ...
: Paimon's talking about a sea creature.
:Anisa: Eh!? Oh... Oh right! I remember now!
:Paimon: What does this person fill their brain with, Paimon wonders...
:Anisa: I actually had a passing glance at that creature earlier. If I'm not mistaken, the skeleton is that of an Umibouzu — or at least, that's what the people of Narukami Island call it.
:Anisa: They are huge, intelligent and savage sea monsters, and were once considered the arch-nemesis of all sailors.
:Anisa: They were overly clever and overly proud... Just like us humans. I suppose that's why they came into conflict with us and became savage beasts.
:Anisa: These sea creatures have been all but wiped out in most ocean regions, but it seems that this isn't the case here...
:Anisa: It seems as though they've even grown close to humanity. This is a very unusual phenomenon indeed. Very interesting.
:Anisa: Thanks a lot! I knew I was right to call on you two for help.
:Anisa: Well, time's a-wasting here. Let's head back and look for Miss Kumi!
:Paimon: Yep, let's go!
----
;(Upon returning to Kumi)
:Kumi: Hello there. Thanks for bringing Anisa back safe and sound
: You're welcome.
: I only did as I should've.
:Anisa: Hello there, Little... uh, Miss Kumi. Sorry for making you worry.
:Kumi: I'm just glad to see that you're all right. I've just finished my garland, too.
:Kumi: Sorry for taking up your time. Let me give her this garland...
:Anisa: Mm, please go ahead.
:Kumi: Thank you.
;(Kumi places the garland onto the bones)
:Kumi: I hope that my feelings, though late, will get through to her.
:Kumi: I'm... all alone again...
:Anisa: What was her name?
:Kumi: ...?
:Paimon: Eh, why are you suddenly asking that?
: (Shh...)
:Anisa: I hear that the people of Watatsumi give each individual a unique name.
:Anisa: If you don't mind me asking, what was your friend's name?
:Kumi: Kuntira.
:Anisa: That's a lovely name.
:Kumi: Thank you...
:Kumi: The elders on the island say that "kuntira" means "whale" in the ancient language.
:Kumi: But I chose this name because I like it...
:Anisa: Well, it also fits with "Kumi," doesn't it? It's a lovely name!
:Paimon: (What's she doing!?)
: (Best we avoid disturbing them, Paimon.)
:Kumi: Um, thank you.
:Anisa: *cough* Apologies. I spoke a little out of turn.
:Kumi: That's okay.
:Kumi: She was the last remnant of their kind. She was born alone, and she died alone.
:Kumi: Born in the sea, dying on land where she didn't belong, suffocating in the air...
:Kumi: Recently I've been thinking, sooner or later, this might be my destiny as well.
:Paimon: Eh...?
: (......)
:Anisa: ...
:Anisa: It's not like that.
:Kumi: There's no need to persuade me... I understand what you're thinking... but after all, you and I are not the same...
:Kumi: I wasn't born here, nor do I belong to my father's hometown...
:Anisa: No, I was talking about the pelvic bones.
:Kumi: ...?
:Anisa: Yes, the pelvic bones.
: Pelvic bones...?
:Paimon: Pelvic bones? What are you talking about?
:Anisa: *cough* It's like this...
:Anisa: Have you guys noticed, that unlike a whale, she still has well-developed pelvic bones
:Paimon: Not at all... How did you notice?
:Anisa: Since I first arrived here, I have been paying attention to its pelvic structure... and the traces it left behind. I suppose you can call this an academic's instinct, hehe.
:Anisa: Hmmm...for example, when we give birth, we experience strong expansions and contractions, and as such, a stable support structure that protects out internal organs and soft tissues is indispensable.
:Anisa: Our pelvis is the structure that performs this function, and for Kuntira, her pelvis is the same.
:Kumi: ...
:Paimon: Well...
: Oh...
:Anisa: A pelvis that has undergone childbirth tends to show a certain degree of deformation and wear due to expansion and contraction.
:Anisa: The body shape of primitive marine creatures tends to be teardrop-shaped, so their pelvises are also narrower.
:Anisa: In other words, the marks of pelvic deformation are more obvious and easier to observe.
:Kumi: Hmmm...is that so?
:Paimon: Huh...
: Oh...
:Anisa: Ah, sorry, I've just been talking about common knowledge. I suppose I've been boring you all to death.
:Kumi: Oh no, please continue...
:Kumi: You have a very beautiful tone of voice, at least. Has anyone ever told you that?
:Anisa: Uhm... Thank you... I never noticed... *cough* *cough* Um, thanks.
:Anisa: Ahem... Back to the topic at hand... As such, I have grounds to fully refute your reasoning.
:Anisa: Based on the deformations of the pelvic bones, she must have undergone many births. It seems she had found her home in the sea, and...
:Kumi: She had more than one offspring...
:Paimon: Wow...
:Anisa: Hmmm, in other words, she found her own happiness.
:Kumi: But if that's the case...then why would she...
: Stay stranded here...?
:Kumi: ...
:Anisa: Haha, that's your second mistake, Miss Kumi.
:Anisa: Stranded sea animals often show signs of distortion and strain on certain parts of their vertebrae.
:Anisa: If you must know why, it's because suffocating is... very painful.
:Kumi: ...
:Anisa: But based on my preliminary observations, Kuntira's spine is straight, almost as if she did not experience any painful struggle...
:Anisa: Based on a rough observation of her bone age, I would estimate that she passed away safely before she came to shore...
:Anisa: As for why she came to this familiar place in her final hours...
:Anisa: Maybe this was her way of telling her good friend that she had lived a happy and fulfilling life.
:Kumi: ...
:Kumi: Thank you.
:Anisa: So, you've got to live well, too.
:Kumi: ...?
:Kumi: Yes... I will.
:Kumi: ...You know, I would always feel torn as to whether I should return to my home on Narukami Island or to stay here in Bourou Village...
:Anisa: Before, I was also torn whether to head back to Akademiya or stay in this country.
:Anisa: Due to the war, confusion, the pressure from the Shogunate...it's all too much, and many people have considered giving up.
:Anisa: But one must make a choice, to continue or to give up. Choosing to continue may still wind up being fruitless, but choosing to give up...
:Kumi: I won't give up.
:Kumi: When it's war or government, they're just another problem. This is another matter entirely...
:Anisa: Haha, you're right!
:Anisa: Think about it, hundreds of years later when people talk about this war, they can only lament the tragedy it caused and how meaningless it all was.
:Anisa: But when they talk about the history of Watatsumi Island, about your friends, and you and me, they will remember...
:Kumi: That this island had a daredevil that stumbled out and somehow unlocked some of the truths behind our history?
:Anisa: Yes, and that there also lived a girl who befriended a giant sea creature, and thus decided where her home should be.
:Kumi: ...
:Kumi: When she was young, when she first met me, I had a similar feeling... the feeling that my life was only just beginning.
;(Anisa walks towards Kumi)
:Anisa: Then let your life begin once again — this time, without any fear of loss.
:Paimon: (Ohh, Paimon's getting mad! We were running all these errands for them, and here they are, chatting away!)
: (Relax, Paimon).
: *cough* *cough*
:Anisa: Uh, having said that, there is one thing that I must ask you, Miss Kumi.
:Paimon: Wow... You're so formal all of a sudden!
: She's got some other agenda, huh...
:Anisa: I might have to stay on Watatsumi Island to study marine life in the long term... So in the meantime, could I, uh...
:Kumi: Do you mean that you want to... study Kuntira's children?
:Anisa: No, I want to try making friends with her children.
:Anisa: And... if you don't mind, Miss Kumi— Well, it's at your convenience, of course, I wouldn't want to...
:Kumi: I live in Bourou Village. I'm sure I could give you a room, as long as you're alright with it.
:Kumi: I'd love to meet her children as well. Maybe that was what she wanted me to see — the family that she cared about.
:Anisa: Thank you!
:Kumi: And there's no need to learn how to speak as we do. I think you speak beautifully as it is.
:Anisa: Hehe... Well then, thanks a lot, Lit— I mean, Miss Kumi!
:Paimon: Eh.. It feels like we've been left out in the cold.
: Just a little.
: It is how it is, Paimon.
:Kumi: Thank you so much for help as well, , Paimon. I will not forget this.
:Anisa: Hehe, me too! My future lectures will always have seats open for you!
;(Paimon throws a tantrum)
:Paimon: What? No, Paimon's not here to study!
==Video Guides==
==Other Languages==
==Change History==
es:La criatura marina solitaria