Hazing?
As Askyros began to clean up the debris from the battle, Ryse approached him.
"Hey, Askyros." [Ryse]
"What is it?" [Askyros]
"I heard that you refused to accept that mercenary." [Ryse]
"I left him with a duty." [Askyros]
Ryse scratched his head.
"Yeah… About that… He actually did become friends with everyone." [Ryse]
"Are you not happy about that?" [Askyros]
"I'm not sure. He tried to kill us just moments ago." [Ryse]
Ryse felt chills as he remembered the view of an arrow coming his way. If not for Askyros catching it, Ryse most likely wouldn't be standing here.
"What is our casualty count?" [Askyros]
"Zero." [Ryse]
"Injuries?" [Askyros]
"Three injured." [Ryse]
"Then it is fine. No one has died." [Askyros]
Askyros then continued his cleaning. He grabbed the massive boulder he chucked into the fort earlier and tossed it over the wall like it weighed nothing.
"True… I'm just not sure if it sits well with me." [Ryse]
Askyros turned to Ryse.
"So it is a personal problem." [Askyros]
"Eh… If you put it that way…" [Ryse]
"It is fine. Go talk to him and see for yourself. The mercenary wanted to be friends with me even though I almost killed him multiple times." [Askyros]
"That… Alright. I'll give it a go." [Ryse]
Ryse left with a nod.
"...Back to cleaning." [Askyros]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Moments later.
"Hey, Askyros!" [Ryse]
Ryse came over with a grin, also accompanied by Aleph.
"You were right! This guy isn't half bad!" [Ryse]
Askyros was a bit surprised by how quickly they became friends.
"That was fast." [Askyros]
"What can I say? I have a good sense of humor." [Aleph]
"Tell me a joke." [Askyros]
"Uh… right now?" [Aleph]
Askyros folded his arms.
"I'll assume so." [Ryse]
"Well that puts me on the spot." [Aleph]
He put a hand on his chin and took a second to think about it.
"Okay. How about this? Knock knock." [Aleph]
"..." [Askyros]
"You're supposed to say "Who's there?"." [Aleph]
"No." [Askyros]
"Different joke then." [Aleph]
Aleph took another second to think.
"I'm gonna be honest, I don't think you're going to laugh at any of my jokes." [Aleph]
Ryse patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't feel too bad. The most I've ever seen was a smile. Even then, I'm not even sure if I was hallucinating." [Ryse]
"Yikes. He's a tough nut to crack." [Aleph]
Ryse nodded.
"Askyros, everyone else approves of Aleph. Will you let him join us?" [Ryse]
"A deal is a deal. He had already joined when everyone else accepted him." [Askyros]
"Great!" [Ryse]
"Cool. So what do I do now?" [Aleph]
"Your duty." [Askyros]
Picking up a broom, he placed it in Aleph's hands.
"Clean the fort." [Askyros]
"...What?" [Aleph]
Ryse picked up a broom as well and began sweeping.
"Hurry up. The faster we get this done, the faster we get Askyros off our backs." [Ryse]
Aleph was confused. Was a knight's duty not to fight? He looked at the other knights in the fort, only to realize they were also cleaning the freshly captured fort.
"Don't you have servants for this?" [Aleph]
"A man's toils cannot be heaved onto another's shoulders. Man up." [Askyros]
"...Man up he says." [Aleph]
Seeing as how everyone else was moving all the rubble, Aleph did the same.
("What kind of group did I just join?") [Aleph]