After finally getting up, I found my host in the tavern part of the building, where she and her daughter were apparently still cleaning up after the little incident yesterday.
I carefully walked down the stairs and called out to her, “Excuse me, Madam.”
She rose from picking up a broken dish and looked at me with ‘annoyance’ written across her face.
“Yes?” she asked, stretching the syllable slightly to underline that she didn’t really want to talk to me.
“I—“ I start, suddenly finding myself at a loss for words. What was I even call out to her for? She told me to scram and get out of her life as soon as possible no 10 minutes ago, didn’t she? But still, I guess I should at least apologize for what happened. I mean, sure, it wasn’t exactly my fault that her counter got thrashed, but I at least was involved.

After taking a deep breath I try again, “I wanted to apologize for what happened. I really don’t know what triggered these guys, but maybe I can at least help clean up the mess.”

The barmaid’s mother rose an eyebrow in surprise before saying, “Would you look at that. A champion with manners and at least some common sense. I must admit, I did not expect that. Well yeah, come on down already, we can use some extra hands. Cynthia, could you fetch the broom?”
“Of course, mother,” Cynthia replies politely and hurries off. I guess her mom is the strict type.
I stagger down the rest of the stairs and over to where the glass is shattered across the floor, attempting to pick it up without cutting myself.

After a few seconds or working in silence, Cynthia’s mom says, “The name’s Sarah, by the way. And I need to apologize the rowdy treatment my guests have given you. Cynthia told me what happened and I fully intend to have a few ‘words’ with them.”
“Yeah well, don’t sweat it. I’m not entirely without blame. I just should have ignored them.”
Sarah shook her head and replied, “That wouldn’t have done you much good, I’m afraid. They...don’t like the champions very much.”
“Yeah, I figured when his fist attempted to reshape my face.”
“But I still hope you’ll forgive them.”
I raise an eyebrow and carried the shards I had picked up to the garbage bin, and asked, “Forgive them? You think I’d go and exact revenge on them or something?”
“Many other champions would. They feel high and mighty, being ‘the chosen one’ and all that and don’t shy away from any fight, apparently figuring they are invulnerable.”
“Yeah well, if there’s one thing I learned last night, it’s that I’m not invulnerable. That I am already up and about again is a bit of a miracle by itself.”
Sarah smiled faintly and replied, “I take it, Magnus didn’t give you anything but the clothes you are wearing, huh? That’s just typical. First he drags them here and then he unleashes them unto an unsuspecting world. Demon king looming or not, that guy’s a menace.”
“Why do you let him keep doing it then? If it’s such a nuisance, I mean.”
“Because we have to. By royal decree, until the demon king has been vanquished, every fiefdom has to supply a champion to the everlasting war every year. So, if Magnus didn’t summon champions from the other world…”
“You’d need to send someone from your own people.”
“Yes, and as you might imagine, none of us is thrilled to set out to get themselves killed. If only the champions weren’t so unbearable sometimes, it’d even be a good thing. I mean, who would be better suited to battle the armies of the demon king, than a demon slaying champion?”

I stopped in my tracks, recalling that the brutes from last night had said and said, “Yeah, about that...I’m afraid, that is a mistake.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, that I am, by no means, a ‘demon slayer’ of any description. Nor is anyone else from the world I come from, for simple reason that the only ‘demons’ we have, are those in suits and ties. And we also don’t slay them, but work with them the best we can.”

Sarah also stopped picking up the pieces of a jar, walked to the counter and leaned on it, before she asked, “Are you sure about that? All champions thus far have claimed that they were expert demon slayers. And that it was easy.”
“Yeah, right, easy. Sure, it is easy. In video games. All you need to do is press a bunch of buttons and the demons fall left and right.”
“Veedeo-games? What are those?”
“Never mind, I doubt you’d understand. Either way, you said that Magnus didn’t give me ‘anything but my clothes on my back’. Is there anything else he should have given me?”
“Well yes, an explanation would have been nice, don’t you think? But he’s so dead set on that whole ‘prophet on a mission’ routine, we regularly have to deal with totally confused and lost people, who are still trying to figure out what happened to them.”
“Yeah, about that...I’m still not sure there myself. I mean, I’ve got the whole ‘summoned to another world’ gig and I have to say, this is the strangest dream I’ve had in a whole while, but—“
“A dream, huh? It’s been a while since one of the champions claimed that. And that’s actually part of the problem the people in this town have with the champions. Many of them think this is just a dream or a game of some sort and that they can do whatever they please, like for example hitting it up with the young and star-eyed barmaid working the counter, promising her the world and going off to ‘vanquish evil’, once he learns, that said barmaid is pregnant with his child. But it isn’t a dream, you know? At the very least for us, this is the reality we live in. Where the things we do and don’t do have consequences.”
And just like that, she had managed to tell me everything I needed to know and made me feel bad at the same time. Because I too was guilty of ‘thinking this to be just a dream’. I mean, I was still convinced that it was, because ‘people going to bed with their wives and waking up stark naked in some cave in a foreign world’ simply didn’t happen, but that was still no reason to be an ass about everything. No wonder the people of this town didn’t like the champions, if all of them acted as if they owned the place.

Finally, Cynthia came back with a broom in hand and started sweeping the ground. Why she didn’t do that from the get go, I never understood, but I also didn’t ask. There was simply too much going on in my head at that time, especially since I was a friend of the ‘multiverse theory’, according to which everything you can imagine is a reality somewhere. Meaning, that even if this was just a dream, to the people inhabiting it, it’s as real as the world I was waiting to wake up in is to me. And just who’s to say, that the world I came from is not the dream of someone else either? Would I like it, if someone suddenly showed up and pretending to be God himself? I don’t think so.

After cleaning up the place in silence, Sarah put a small pouch with a few coins on the counter and said, “As a little thank you for helping out today...and for listening. Everyone always dumps their ballast on us, but barely anyone ever takes the time to listen.”
“Yeah well, don’t sweat it. As I said, it was at least partially my fault as well.”
“So, what are you going to do next?”, Cynthia asked.
That was a very good question, actually. I had already learned the hard way, that the champions did not have the best reputation in this town and it made me shiver at what the rest of the world thought about the lot of us in general.
“Our honored champion will be heading to the nearest office of the adventurers guild and register himself, of course. And from there, he will find someone, who can teach him about our world and how to actually use that sword he’s got dangling around his waist. Isn’t that right, esteemed champion?”
‘Talk about doing a 180 in attitude,’ I thought, but said, “Yes, that sounds about right. I have abused your hospitality for far too long already. I wish I could pay for the damage my presence has caused, but, as we’ve already established, I’m kinda on the broke side.”
Sarah laughed and replied, “Don’t worry about that, as I said, I fully intend to have a few ‘words’ with the patrons who caused the damage. Don’t worry about us. I’ve long since learned how to deal with troublesome customers. Very well then, esteemed champion, may the spirits guide and protect you on your journey. And may you be successful, where all others have failed before.”

The half-sentence, ‘So we don’t have to deal with any more ‘champions from other worlds’.’ remained unspoken, but I still understood what she meant to say.
Which was not bad at all, considering that I am terrible with subtext.

And thus I soon set out, following Sarah’s instructions, asking people for directions wherever they didn’t try to run away from me.

And I swear to God, I felt the entire town sighing in relief, when I finally passed the threshold to the road towards the next town, my new bag containing some water and food for the journey.

Back then, I had hoped to come across an actually paying side quest, even if only so I wouldn’t have to rely on the goodwill of people as much.
Now I have long since realized how silly this hope was.