Having coordinated multiple times before, Alice revealed the keyhole on her back with practiced ease and sat obediently on the bed, waiting for the captain to wind the spring key.
Duncan held the brass key with the loop handle and slowly approached it towards Alice's keyhole, but just then, he suddenly heard the automaton speak up, "Captain, I have a question."
Duncan immediately stopped his movement, "A question?"
"You said that this key is for the routes to the other three 'nodes' on the external barrier, and that I'm something... the Navigator Number Three, right? That means, with the routes, I could take you far away, even to the ends of the world..."
