Just A Reincarnation Story (Summoning Japan Edition)

Chapter 89: Convenience Engineering

In the end, however, only one out of the four provided Datapoints contained readable data.

Lightly shaking his head at the sight of the cluster of glaring red particles swirling above the projection table, Meteos then let out a faint sigh before ejecting the final exhibit from the reader device. After failing on the first and succeeding in obtaining a passing grade on the second one, the last two Datapoints' readings revealed severe data corruption, leaving nothing useful to be extracted.

Nevertheless, even a single, coherent piece of information would be a treasure trove for the MOASEC researchers. Their understanding of the Ravernal Empire could be said to be still in its infancy, and any new data, no matter how limited, could be a crucial puzzle piece. That's why, along with other reasons, Meteos wasn't too disappointed, although he did feel bad for his eager colleagues.

"...Oh well, as much as this isn't ideal, I think it's to be expected given how ancient those fragile-looking things are," Legiel airily remarked amidst the air of disappointment that filled the meeting room after their poor luck.

Ashera sitting beside him gave an exaggerated shrug with a begrudging look on her face.

"Yeah... I get it. That doesn't make it any less lame, though. Now those things are just glorified paperweights," she grumbled.

The guests, Princess Lugiel and her companion Matoya, looked more composed but couldn't completely hide their somber feelings.

"We do still have many such Datapoints stored in the Ancient Ministry," Lugiel spoke up. Her gaze swept across the room, meeting the eyes of each person in turn. "It's just given the state of the ones we've examined... I fear that the likelihood of finding readable data in half, or even a quarter of them, is a real possibility."

Matoya agreed. "The recovery teams do encounter these Datapoints in random places. It's quite possible that those in more exposed locations suffered greater damage."

Meteos shrugged.

"Don't worry about it too much. It's not like Datapoints are the sole data storage devices the Light-Winged People used," he said in a reassuring tone. "They are but enlarged 'memory cards' the guys at Aikon are developing. There are also ancient computers and other storage mediums that the Ancient Ministry has yet to analyze or even find."

Ace, who had been observing the scene without saying a word since the first viewing, finally decided to open his mouth and address his younger brother.

"Then, are we going to just toss those corrupted devices aside?"

Catching the intention behind Ace's words, a small smile tugged at the corners of Meteos' mouth. "Actually, no," he replied calmly. "It's possible to attempt recovery on corrupted data. Depending on the extent of the damage, we might be able to salvage some more information."

Lugiel blinked in surprise. "Oh. So you can do that."

"Yes, Your Highness," Meteos nodded, placing his hand on the reader device. "You have my word that the Mark 2 of this device will be able to do that."

"If that's the case, why didn't you mention this earlier?" Matoya asked.

"I know, curious, isn't it?" Meteos quipped with a tilt of his head. "This reader device was created based on the Ancient Ministry's official requirement, right? The demonstration and the device are meant to show that the device works to 'the world outside the White Lotus.'"

Having fulfilled the minimum requirement of his official workplace, the White Lotus Leader was saving the full potential of his future visions for their covert activities.