Haha, and I was thiiis close to praising him for being based and redpilled for initially choosing the guard!
I suppose adding a mage to the party just makes for a more visually and narratively interesting story, huh? And I'm pretty sure the following chapters will trim the cast enough for all of them to gather in one squad. Aaron has been repeatedly pointed out to be lacking, so unless he switches his specialization, he's a prime candidate for leaving the stage.