I had seen the ocean a couple of times in my previous life, but never had I ever seen water that was this cerulean and crisp, glittering beneath the sun like a blanket of pale lapis lazuli that stretched out as far as the eye could see.

The gentle waves brushed over top the silvery sands and caused the various boats to rock softly, while the seldom few clouds above allowed the sun to shine down in all of its glory, bathing everything in a warm glow that felt wonderful.

A mild pang of salt pricked at the nose, but the closer we got to the coastline the sweeter the air got, complimentary of the red and purple flowers that grew on the fringes of the sand in incredible abundance.

Even with few clouds to shield us from the sun the coastline was a warm - but not hot - place to be, with a calm breeze rolling on in every few seconds, bringing in more of that salt as well as the unmistakable smell of fish and other aquatic creatures.

I wasn’t partial to them myself, so for me that was the single downside of this gorgeous scene in front of me, but it was so miniscule that I didn’t even really register that at all, especially not when all of the locals were... ’appropriately’ dressed for this coastal area.

Every single one of them wore either a loose cropped top or just a bra to cover their breasts - quite a few were actually forgoing them completely, just letting them hang freely and soaking in even more sun - while their bottoms were either clad in nothing but a thin pair of water resistant panties or flowing skirts that billowed around their legs.

All of them had olive skin that practically glowed thanks to the sun, and their relaxed nature was rather infectious as they lounged on chairs, sprawled out on the sands, or waded in the water as they chatted with one another.

Despite some of them going around topless - and despite a few of the futanari wearing really tight panties that showed off their impressive bulges - none of the locals were openly having sex on the beach, though some of them looked to be mere moments away from lunging on someone.

One futanari in particular had her panties stretched to the maximum over her massive erection, not bothering to hide it as she talked to two different women with an easy smile on her face; one was shyly looking at her and peeking down at her cock while the other smirked back at her and bit her lip, clearly liking whatever was being said to her.

Taking in this sight, I briefly wondered if there really was any other reason for us to be here rather than just to have sex, relax and soak in the sun, but our shortstack Professor cleared her throat and clapped her hands, getting our attention immediately.

"We’ll be settling down in this town for tonight and starting the Practical Exams tomorrow. However, that does not mean you are free to go anywhere. We have a meeting with the Mayor, Bishop and Guard Captain at dusk, where they shall fill us all in on the specifics of their request."

Raking her eyes over all of us, our Professor let that sink in for a moment before continuing "There have been pirates in the area, so we shall be boarding a boat and joining the Town Guard on a patrol around their waters, where we shall likely encounter either pirates or oceanic monsters."

The idea of getting into a battle at sea against pirates made me blanch a little, primarily because the idea of being on a boat instead of solid ground wigged me out just a tad; the loss of agency over my ability to move around was frightening, and adding combat on top of that was just... not a fun idea.

Then there was the whole thing about it being pirates, which I tended to think of as a bit scarier than normal bandits since they spent most of their time at sea with less access to their basic needs, so... they always seemed to be more ferocious and depraved...

"However, I understand completely that the scene before you is rather enticing, and I know better than to attempt to keep all of you caged up when you can see this from your windows. After the meeting you will be free to explore, however you must venture out in pairs and you need to remain within the patrol area of the Town Guard."

She looked around at all of us again, getting a chorus of agreements and nods as we confirmed that we weren’t going to be stupid... and of course Taji leaned close and very quietly asked "How much you wanna bet someone gets real~ ’friendly’ with a local~?", which thankfully the Professor didn’t notice.

Jabbing my elbow into her side, I continued to pay attention to our Professor as she went over a few more things, though my attention drifted after she continued to hammer the idea of us being responsible home in as many different ways as she could.

It was hard to pay attention when the locals were all beginning to notice our arrival, their curiosity becoming piqued as they walked closer and chatted with one another, pointing and saying something or just waving at us directly.

One of them was topless and had large breasts that bounced with her as she jumped around, waving at us with a very knowing grin, while a futanari smirked and started admiring the view that was our Professor’s very shapely backside.

Trying to pay attention to a bunch of regurgitated confirmations or whatever when that was happening was impossible, and thankfully our Professor just grumbled something to herself before turning around, beckoning for us to follow.

Her tail swished a few times when she noticed that futanari staring right at her, and although I knew little about feline behavior it seemed to me that she was quite happy that this toned local was admiring her body... or she was irritated.

It could have been that, for sure...