"Lord! Land—a small island! A green little island, covered in fruit trees! ..."
"It really is land! That fellow Columbus actually didn't lie to us! Deep in the endless Western Sea, land really exists! ..."
"Hey, watch your mouth! What do you mean, that fellow... He's our Expedition Commander, the head of our fleet! The... oh! Admiral of the Ocean Sea! ..."
"Holy Mother! ... I'm so jealous of Rodrigo on the Pinta. He was the first to spot land, and he'll get the annuity the Queen promised—ten thousand Maravedi in copper coins! ..."
"Hey! Ten thousand copper coins isn't that much. It's just about the yearly income of the boatswain or the pilot on our ship..."
"Pah! You don't know a damn thing! This is an annuity, an annuity! You get it every year, all the way until you die of old age! ... Can you work on a ship until you die of old age? When you're old and can't work anymore, let's see who'll feed you! ..."
"Ha! We sailors come through the wind and go through the sea. On which voyage don't several men die? ... Don't tell me you're still counting on the Lord's blessing and hoping to live until old age? ..."
"Damn it! You dare curse me?! ... I'll beat you to death! ..."
"Joder! Stop fighting! The boss said this place is Cipangu, Japan, with wealth and gold everywhere... Eh! Look over there, there are signs of people! There seems to be a village on this island! ..."
"Where? Huh! It really is a village! It doesn't look very big... Strange! Why didn't I see any firelight last night..."
The sky brightened, and the morning glow swept across the deep eastern sky, falling on the little island of reefs to the west.