Asta

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Asta (艾丝妲)
Gender	Female 3
Affiliation	Herta Space Station 4
Occupation/Role	Lead Researcher 3 4
Family	Daughter of an Interastral Peace Corporation board member 3 16
First Appearance	Playing with Peppy 2

Background / History

Meeting Jiang Yao

Asta first encounters Jiang Yao after Peppy abandons their playtime to follow the smell of his cooking. She initially fears another Antimatter Legion attack, but decides there is no immediate danger and follows Peppy to the kitchen 2.

Recognizing Jiang Yao as the unconscious man Welt and Dan Heng had brought to the station, she offers to contact his companions and sends Himeko their coordinates. Jiang Yao then cooks additional fried eggs for Asta and Peppy. Their extraordinary flavor overturns Asta’s expectations despite her extensive experience with expensive food 3 4.

After tasting his egg fried rice, Asta becomes determined to keep him nearby. She also explains to Himeko and Welt that the dish uses ordinary protein rice and chicken eggs, establishing that Jiang Yao’s skill—not rare ingredients—is responsible for its flavor 5 6.

Recruitment Attempt and Cooking Agreement

Asta visits Jiang Yao late at night to offer him employment as the station’s head chef. When he says he has no interest in Credits, she realizes that her wealth cannot guarantee his cooperation 8 9.

Arrangement	Terms	Outcome
Proposed head-chef position	Annual base salary of 99,999,999 Credits; ingredients supplied; the cooking requirement reduced to one daily meal for Asta and Peppy; extra pay offered for additional meals 8.	Does not persuade Jiang Yao to remain on the station 8 9.
Accepted cooking exchange	Asta supplies ingredients, and Jiang Yao cooks for her. She may request particular dishes; he offers durable desserts and snacks for times when he is away 9.	Both consider the arrangement an excellent bargain, while Jiang Yao retains his freedom to travel 9.

During the following breakfast, Asta joins Himeko, Welt, and Peppy for Jiang Yao’s soup dumplings. When the younger Express members arrive, she quietly takes an extra steamer to secure more food before he leaves 11 12 13.

Jiang Yao’s decision to join the Astral Express disappoints her. She briefly considers financing his travels herself, but ultimately reassures herself that their cooking agreement remains intact. Before his departure, they arrange future transactions, and she accepts a Light Cone to deliver to Ruan Mei 15 16 17.

Ingredient Search and Delivery

At Jiang Yao’s suggestion, Asta assembles a search squad to investigate remote star systems using Trailblaze star charts. The team discovers a planet containing numerous potential ingredients, and she sends him photographs and scan results so he can judge their culinary value 31.

She subsequently coordinates deliveries with Himeko, using the Astral Express as the destination. Her investment is not solely about satisfying her appetite: she expects Jiang Yao’s cooking to become a sought-after commodity and considers distribution, auctions, and direct trade as possible ways to turn it into influence 35.

Appearance

• Pink hair, explicitly noted while describing her work coordinating ingredient deliveries 35.
• Sweet, innocent-looking expression, contrasted with her calculating side 3.
• Delicate face, with her usual authoritative bearing disappearing when she becomes absorbed in food 3 4.

Personality

Asta is attentive to others’ safety. When Peppy acts strangely, her chief concern is the possibility of casualties from another attack; financial losses matter little to her by comparison. She is also welcoming toward the Astral Express and readily helps Jiang Yao contact the crew 2 3.

Her refined manners are easily overwhelmed by Jiang Yao’s cooking. She abandons table etiquette while eating his fried eggs, becomes anxious about losing access to his meals, and finds the station’s usual food difficult to tolerate afterward. Her enthusiasm also makes her curious about his methods, though his ability to identify an ingredient’s upbringing through taste leaves her baffled 4 8 9 16.

Beneath that enthusiasm, Asta remains commercially astute. She recognizes the potential value of Jiang Yao’s talent and plans around both abundant production and scarcity. Her playful competitiveness appears when she deliberately tells Stelle how many meals and baskets of buns she has already enjoyed 16 35.

Abilities & Skills

Financial Resources and Procurement

Asta’s personal wealth gives her access to supplies on an exceptional scale 3 8.

• Offers a nearly one-hundred-million-Credit annual salary during her recruitment attempt 8.
• Rapidly obtains an emperor-bamboo steamer after Jiang Yao mentions needing one 11.
• Funds ingredient searches beyond the station’s existing stock 31.
• Cannot use money alone to persuade Jiang Yao to settle in one place 8 9.

Organization and Logistics

Asta efficiently manages the search and transport arrangements supporting Jiang Yao’s cooking 31 35.

• Assembles a search squad that locates a remote ingredient-rich planet 31.
• Passes photographs and scans to Jiang Yao rather than claiming to know which discoveries taste good 31.
• Coordinates delivery timing with Himeko and expedites requested ingredients 35.

Commercial Planning

Her upbringing has made Asta familiar with exchanging money and scarce goods for influence 35.

• Plans to expand distribution if Jiang Yao increases production 35.
• Considers auctions or direct trade if his food remains scarce 35.
• Treats her partnership as a future commercial opportunity as well as a source of meals 35.

Movement Blessing

• Uses a blessing to increase her speed while following Peppy toward the kitchen; no name or broader capabilities are given for it 2.

Equipment / Items

• Interstellar phone — used to send Himeko Jiang Yao’s location and later contact him about ingredient discoveries 3 31.
• Private kitchen — normally used to prepare Peppy’s dog food; becomes the gathering place for Jiang Yao’s soup-dumpling breakfast 12 13.
• Emperor-bamboo steamer — purchased for Jiang Yao’s dumplings 11.
• [The Origin of Life] — temporarily entrusted to her for delivery to Ruan Mei. Jiang Yao presents it as a surprise; it contains a preserved roasted True Sting Pupa 17.

Relationships

• Peppy — her pet and playmate. Asta trusts him enough to follow his lead when he detects Jiang Yao’s cooking, and includes him in her proposed daily meal arrangement 2 8.
• Jiang Yao — cooking partner and ingredient recipient. Her unsuccessful attempt to employ him develops into a mutually beneficial supply-and-cooking agreement 8 9 31 35.
• Himeko — Astral Express contact and logistics collaborator. Asta informs her when Jiang Yao awakens and later coordinates ingredient deliveries with her 3 35.
• Welt — fellow diner whose questions prompt Asta to reveal the ordinary ingredients behind Jiang Yao’s exceptional fried rice 6.
• Stelle — friendly rival over access to Jiang Yao’s meals. Asta deliberately makes her envious by recounting her earlier meals and larger breakfast share 15 16.
• Ruan Mei — intended recipient of Jiang Yao’s surprise gift, which Asta agrees to deliver without asking questions 17.

Notable Quotes

“Not too bad? These are the best fried eggs I've ever eaten!” 4

“Exactly. I've eaten plenty of fine food myself, but nobody's cooking has ever surpassed yours!” 16