Just like in 21st-century Korea, when any product goes through the hands of middlemen, the price skyrockets. A cabbage that costs 500 won at the farm can magically cost 5,000 won after passing through three middlemen. A similar phenomenon occurs on a larger scale in the Toscano Empire—a medieval fantasy world.

Especially when "military supplies" are involved, the process becomes so intense that even a Buddha would lose his patience.

“We’re just trying to make a living here. Even if we sell at this price, we hardly have anything left after paying our porters,” Rafaello, the merchant in front of …