For now
Why was he doing this? Nero pondered the question for a brief moment. Gathering everyone had started out feeling like a good idea. It even paid off, when the size of their group drove away small animals, such as the martens. But the situation quickly devolved.
Now he was doing it because it was good experience. The increased burden did not daunt him, nor did the thought of the increased difficulty. He just wanted to use this current situation to derive as much experience as he could, and improve as fast as possible.
"I'll give you all five minutes to decide amongst yourselves," Nero said to the onlookers. "After that, if you have not come to a decision, then we will be moving on by ourselves."
Then Nero turned to his own group, and pulled Charles to the side.