"Let's hope that remains true when crisis strikes here." Ren did not hope for that. The idea of it was fine in theory, but Ren preferred to act, not react. The idea of waiting for the war to begin before forming the ranks did not sit well with him. The people of the village clearly needed a leader but he was not interested in leading them.

He knew nothing of them or how useful they would be to him. Better to let them fall to the chaos and let them be a distraction to fall when he needed it.