The maid squad is too strong, what use is there for me, the Demon King?

"Which faction are you from? How long have you been a member of the Demon Order?" Gray asked.

Duer Valen, of course, wouldn't admit it, feigning innocence: "What are you talking about? What is the Demon Order? I'm warning you, let me out right now!"

Gray said calmly, "The Demon Cult is a cult that worships the seven demons of the Netherworld. You were arrested because your son revealed your cult membership."

"Huh? You're calling me a cultist, or did my son point that out? What a joke!" Dur Valen roared. "What kind of lowly cult would I, a viscount, join?"

The Demon Order is not some low-level cult; its power remains terrifying, and it is well hidden, unknown to commoners and ordinary nobles.

Durr Valen is currently maintaining the persona of a noble viscount who knows nothing.

Duer Valen's reaction was not unexpected by Gray.

A cult member would never easily admit their identity; that would be suicide.

Gray has methods to detect cult members who pretend to be innocent, still relying on Delta's scent and mental abilities to read their memories.

But it's broad daylight, and Delta is incredibly sleepy. You could force her to get up, but nobody wants to be woken up while they're sound asleep, right?

There are other options, and Gray felt there was no need to bother Delta.

However, accessing memories is not a foolproof method.

There is a restriction on the souls of cult members, which is triggered when the soul of a cult member is subjected to strong external interference (such as reading or modifying memories), directly shattering the soul, that is, silencing them.

This restriction is not possessed by all cults; it currently exists only among cults of the War and Conflict faction and the Lust and Pleasure faction.

Both factions' abilities involve the spiritual and soul aspects. It is initially believed that the restrictions were established by the high-ranking cult members of these factions, and that other factions do not have them because cult members whose abilities do not involve the soul cannot do so.

Otherwise, such a useful restriction would definitely be implanted in everyone, so even if a large number of cult members were arrested, they wouldn't be able to get anything out of them.

Gray had already learned of the existence of the "Dead Men" from Capa. These two cultists' abilities were definitely mental; they couldn't read memories, and if they did, the person would die, and they couldn't get anything out of them.

However, if the confession is made voluntarily, the prohibition will not take effect.

This is not surprising.

As cult members, they will inevitably discuss related matters when participating in factional activities. The restraints are not that intelligent and cannot distinguish between normal cult activities and confessions, so the restraints cannot be set up that way.

As for using torture to extract information, Gray didn't think it was a good method. If someone was determined to deny everything, it would be difficult to get any information out of them, even if they were beaten to death.

Gray felt that using psychology to break down mental defenses was more feasible than physical torture.

We must once again draw upon the wisdom of our ancestors.

“Separate them,” Gray said to Alpha. “Don’t let those two stay together.”

Although unaware of Gray's intentions, Alpha nodded and complied.

Two cult members could be used in a prisoner's dilemma scenario.

The Prisoner's Dilemma is a well-known concept in game theory. It describes how two rational individuals, when making choices without communication, may end up with a mutually detrimental outcome, even if cooperation would be more beneficial to both.

For example.

The two suspects were detained separately after their arrest and were unable to communicate with each other. The prosecutor told them separately:

If both plead guilty (testifying against each other), each will be sentenced to five years in prison.

If only one person pleads guilty (testifying against the other), the guilty person will be released, while the other person will be sentenced to 10 years in prison.

If both plead not guilty (remain silent), each will be sentenced to six months in prison.

Although neither of them pleading guilty could lead to a suboptimal outcome for either of them, according to rational choice theory, each prisoner would choose to betray the other because they cannot be certain whether the other will cooperate, while pleading guilty would ensure that they do not suffer the worst possible outcome.

In psychology, this can be explained as follows: When faced with choices, individuals tend to consider options that are relatively self-interested but not in the best interests of the collective.

This move would be a devastating blow to people from another world.

After telling Alpha what she should do, Gray went into the cell where Duer Valen was being held.

Ignoring Duer Valen's clamor, Gray said in a deep voice, "You now have two choices."

Duer Valen scoffed: "Do you need to say whether you admit it or not? Let me tell you, if you want to find fault, you can always find a reason. I'm not a cultist, you can kill me, but I'm not!"

“Don’t rush,” Gray said slowly. “First, admit your wrongdoing and cooperate with us by providing information. I guarantee that I will treat prisoners well. If you repent and reform, it’s not impossible to release you.”

But if the other person confesses, and you don't, then sorry, the other person can live, but you...

"Look at what your son looks like now, don't you think?"

Upon hearing this, Durr Valen fell into deep thought.

"I won't bother you anymore, I'm leaving." Gray stood up: "Think about it carefully yourself."

Duer Valen thought to himself: What a powerful move.

He needs to carefully consider whether or not to admit it.

But we can't give ourselves away yet. Duer Valen said dismissively, "There are no cultists here. It's a waste of time."

Gray smiled and said, "There's one more thing I haven't mentioned. If neither of you admits anything, we can't release them. They'll just stay here and be tortured together."

"Think about it."

After that, he turned around and left.

Once Gray left, Durr Valen no longer displayed his contemptuous and angry attitude.

What should I do?

If you don't admit it, then don't even think about getting out. Staying here for life is the best you can do. Who knows what kind of torture you'll suffer?

Admittedly, there's no guarantee these people will keep their word; both sides are dead ends. But admitting it offers at least a glimmer of hope.

Deny everything and wait to be rescued?

That's unrealistic, whether as a nobleman or a cult member.

His disappearance has been discovered, but there's no hope that the emperor will send people to find him. Reginald will definitely take advantage of his misfortune, and the territory will be reclaimed. No, it will probably be promoted to viscount and the territory will be granted to the newly promoted viscount.

There's no point in relying on the Demon Cult either; he's not a high-ranking official, just an ordinary cultist, so there's no way they'll rescue him.

So it's better to admit it?

If you were to ask Duer Valen whether he thought another person would admit it, Duer Valen couldn't give a definite answer, but he wouldn't dare to gamble.

He wasn't familiar with this messenger; he was just a liaison sent from above. They had no connection and didn't even know each other very well.

If the other party admits it and he doesn't, he's finished.

However, he admitted that he only needed to assist these people and give them some information, and he didn't need to worry about whether they admitted it or not.

The only concern is whether these people will keep their promises.