Hen na Ie - Vol. 7 Ch. 31

[MangaDex]

 

[Tsama0]

Some notes for this upload:

• Dun dun duuuun. Vol 7 ends on yet another cliffhanger.
• With so many layouts left to go, it's hard to form any solid ideas about what's going on. Not that I'm complaining, I really dig the way the story's presented.
• Definitely looking forward to the next volume. Not to mention the next volume of Hen na E. Who knows, maybe a Hen na Chizu (Strange Maps) manga is in the works.

 

[vangstampede]

Think we need to hear Mitsuko's side of story first before rushing towards any assumptions.

Though, I find it pretty suspicious for bedrooms in a mansion like that not to have private bathrooms.

 

[enhydriodon]

Thanks for the translation!

Were there any extras in this volume? The previous one was really cute.

 

[Claresilver47]

Ok I was wrong about that small room in the last chapter if it was the toilet. This house isn't just terribly designed, it's INTENTIONALLY designed to get someone killed. Anyone with a shred of common sense would know that putting the toilet where the door swings into where stairs going up ends is asking for someone to fall down said stairs. Specifically this is designed to kill someone trying to get INTO the toilet, if this was on the other side it would be someone trying to kill anyone trying to go up the stairs. This was incredibly targeted design to kill the grandma and to make it a gawd damn spectacle at it too because of how it's literally impossible to go to any of the other rooms in the downstairs without going through the foyer

 

[hikarimew]

Ok I was wrong about that small room in the last chapter if it was the toilet. This house isn't just terribly designed, it's INTENTIONALLY designed to get someone killed. Anyone with a shred of common sense would know that putting the toilet where the door swings into where stairs going up ends is asking for someone to fall down said stairs. Specifically this is designed to kill someone trying to get INTO the toilet, if this was on the other side it would be someone trying to kill anyone trying to go up the stairs. This was incredibly targeted design to kill the grandma and to make it a gawd damn spectacle at it too because of how it's literally impossible to go to any of the other rooms in the downstairs without going through the foyer

Yeah I feel like the big focus on the bookshelf/probably-hidden-passage is just to make you lose focus on how the bathroom door opens.

 

[reyvarie]

Ooh a five chapter volume. I was a little sad we were gonna be left hanging with this story barely started.

Yeah I feel like the big focus on the bookshelf/probably-hidden-passage is just to make you lose focus on how the bathroom door opens.

There's gotta be something about the bookshelf too. It could be related to the overarching mystery. The fact that the bookshelf goes from wall to wall to ceiling is giving me vibes of the altar from the first arc.

 

[shelliana]

Maybe an obvious guess, but I'm suspecting the grandmother is the young girl the CEO of Hikura House was rumored to have abused, leading to both the bad leg (and whatever else her clothes are hiding) and to her having had children very young.

 

[Tsama0]

Just putting down some observations/questions/theories I have about the four cases so far.

Missing limbs, a shady cult involving a filthy rich family, and an ambiguously-aged granny. Why does that sound so familiar?

File 1

• One-armed/legged statue implies some cult is involved.
• Another reader thought the layout of the Negishi itself looked like the one-armed/legged lady. After looking at some other floor plans on Kurihara's table, I think they're onto something.
• The mother seems to be more involved in whatever this cult is, the father seems to be largely absent from this story.
• I have a sneaking suspicion the boy that got run over by the truck was no accident. They hired Misaki Home Builders to make their house, but the parents (or at least the wife) seems to be involved in the cult - which is linked to Misaki's rival, Hikura House. I have a feeling Hikura is involved in this "accident" somehow. Perhaps use this incident to make Misaki look bad?
• I wonder what's the significance of Negishi's hate/fear/concern of her child.

File 2

• Files 2 and 4 make me wonder if Hikura's making badly designed houses on purpose. If so, for what purpose. File 4's design at least seems deliberate (I'll get into this later).
• Though this murder case is "solved," I wonder if there's more to this story. Is the cult involved? Is there any particular significance to the layout of the house? Having one person go crazy is one thing, but having both the mother AND the boy stab people?
• Is the abuse allegation against Hikura true? If not, why would the author bring it up?
• The "Caagle" search seems to support the idea Hikura House is involved in some cult.

File 3

• Why make the "execution chamber/confessional" a watermill - especially since there's no water nearby? Pretty sure they could've come up with a less conspicuous design if that's all there was to the hut.
• Is the statue linked to the one-armed/legged lady?
• I think the statue might be Kishimojin, a sort of guardian of children. So are the "sinners" atoning for something to do with children or parenting?
• What's up with the white egret? Why is a wingtip missing? How did she know it was a female egret, specifically?
• In fact, what's up with all the injured/missing limbs throughout all these stories? First we have the one-armed/legged statue, then we have the egret, and later on there was the child with a festering wound on its arm. (I suspect there's also one in File 4)

File 4

• Mitsy's face must be ACHING from all that smiling.
• I don't think Mitsuko had any malicious intentions - she could've dropped her "nice girl" act after her grandmother's "accident," but she still seemed to treat Shiori nicely before going to the hospital.
• If this is the Mousetrap House, who's the mouse? The most obvious answer would be the grandmother, but what's the motivation behind her murder?
• The house layout's awful, as is expected of the Hikuras. I suspect there's much more to it than this - keep in mind the layout was drawn from Shiori's memory from maybe 20 years ago, and it's not like she explored the whole house.
• A lot of attention was drawn to the wardrobe/bookshelf, so again there might be more to it than was revealed so far.
• Grandma wore gloves and a skirt that hid her legs. Makes me wonder if she's hiding an injury or a disfigurement. She doesn't seem to use her left hand at all. She also has difficulty walking unaided. The only other thing I'll say about this is, the statue from file 1 is missing a left arm and right leg.
• Historically, masters lived on the bottom floor while servants lived on upper floors (well, that's in western societies from 100 years ago, I don't know how rich people live nowadays, so I might be talking out of my ass). So why was Mitsy and granny living on the second floor? Especially since granny has mobility issues. If she has so much trouble reaching the bathroom, there's no way she'd be able to go down those stairs. I suspect the house is a literal death trap.
• So why was Shiori brought to the house? What was her role in this "accident"?

Thanks for the translation!

Were there any extras in this volume? The previous one was really cute.

Alas, no omake or other bonus materials.

 

[NerimaShinjuku]

Shiori never saw the body. They made a point of making sure we knew that

When Shiori was up in the night investigating the wardrobe, she felt eyes on her, but Mitsuko was asleep. Likely there’s a spy-hole in the wall

 

[maddery]

Just putting down some observations/questions/theories I have about the four cases so far.

Missing limbs, a shady cult involving a filthy rich family, and an ambiguously-aged granny. Why does that sound so familiar?

File 1

• One-armed/legged statue implies some cult is involved.
• Another reader thought the layout of the Negishi itself looked like the one-armed/legged lady. After looking at some other floor plans on Kurihara's table, I think they're onto something.
• The mother seems to be more involved in whatever this cult is, the father seems to be largely absent from this story.
• I have a sneaking suspicion the boy that got run over by the truck was no accident. They hired Misaki Home Builders to make their house, but the parents (or at least the wife) seems to be involved in the cult - which is linked to Misaki's rival, Hikura House. I have a feeling Hikura is involved in this "accident" somehow. Perhaps use this incident to make Misaki look bad?
• I wonder what's the significance of Negishi's hate/fear/concern of her child.

File 2

• Files 2 and 4 make me wonder if Hikura's making badly designed houses on purpose. If so, for what purpose. File 4's design at least seems deliberate (I'll get into this later).
• Though this murder case is "solved," I wonder if there's more to this story. Is the cult involved? Is there any particular significance to the layout of the house? Having one person go crazy is one thing, but having both the mother AND the boy stab people?
• Is the abuse allegation against Hikura true? If not, why would the author bring it up?
• The "Caagle" search seems to support the idea Hikura House is involved in some cult.

File 3

• Why make the "execution chamber/confessional" a watermill - especially since there's no water nearby? Pretty sure they could've come up with a less conspicuous design if that's all there was to the hut.
• Is the statue linked to the one-armed/legged lady?
• I think the statue might be Kishimojin, a sort of guardian of children. So are the "sinners" atoning for something to do with children or parenting?
• What's up with the white egret? Why is a wingtip missing? How did she know it was a female egret, specifically?
• In fact, what's up with all the injured/missing limbs throughout all these stories? First we have the one-armed/legged statue, then we have the egret, and later on there was the child with a festering wound on its arm. (I suspect there's also one in File 4)

File 4

• Mitsy's face must be ACHING from all that smiling.
• I don't think Mitsuko had any malicious intentions - she could've dropped her "nice girl" act after her grandmother's "accident," but she still seemed to treat Shiori nicely before going to the hospital.
• If this is the Mousetrap House, who's the mouse? The most obvious answer would be the grandmother, but what's the motivation behind her murder?
• The house layout's awful, as is expected of the Hikuras. I suspect there's much more to it than this - keep in mind the layout was drawn from Shiori's memory from maybe 20 years ago, and it's not like she explored the whole house.
• A lot of attention was drawn to the wardrobe/bookshelf, so again there might be more to it than was revealed so far.
• Grandma wore gloves and a skirt that hid her legs. Makes me wonder if she's hiding an injury or a disfigurement. She doesn't seem to use her left hand at all. She also has difficulty walking unaided. The only other thing I'll say about this is, the statue from file 1 is missing a left arm and right leg.
• Historically, masters lived on the bottom floor while servants lived on upper floors (well, that's in western societies from 100 years ago, I don't know how rich people live nowadays, so I might be talking out of my ass). So why was Mitsy and granny living on the second floor? Especially since granny has mobility issues. If she has so much trouble reaching the bathroom, there's no way she'd be able to go down those stairs. I suspect the house is a literal death trap.
• So why was Shiori brought to the house? What was her role in this "accident"?

Alas, no omake or other bonus materials.

Servants live in the ground floor or another building nowadays, while the masters live on the upper floors.

 

[maddery]

The layout is so weird. Why was the grandmother's room in the middle? And house like that should have bathroom inside their bedroom, not outside.

 

[fight2live]

seeing the floor plan on page 2 feels like getting flashbanged

 

[Babymech2]

Honestly, these people would be pretty annoying house guests... "As soon as I walked into the apartment I couldn't help but feel something was off... The angles on the corner in the hallway didn't quite make sense, and the underwear, empty beer cans and pizza boxes on the floor seemed to spell out a menacing pattern. I excused myself and went to the bathroom, only to find that there was no toilet paper! What sinister and murderous motive could lie behind this?! I ran screaming from the house and never looked back; I'm pretty sure I just barely escaped a multigenerational murder cult that was planning to stick me in the crawl space"

 

[Umb3rus]

Alas, no omake or other bonus materials.

NOOOOOOOO, I wanted more of the cute protagonist '^'

This house does seem very strange, but that's a pretty elaborate and expensive murder plot, if it indeed was one...

Thank you for the translation ^^

 

[enhydriodon]

Alas, no omake or other bonus materials.

Aww, maybe the next volume. I'd love to see more of the mangaka's doodles, I'm really curious to see the iterations the mc went through in the design phase to get to what we have now since they said in an interview it took about 10 designs.

Oh and they draw the mc for promo art pretty often, here's something they did for being put on myanimelist's You Should Read This Manga 2026.

Look at those legs I am very very normal about this character and may or may not have a stash of all of the official art.

 

[reyvarie]

Maybe an obvious guess, but I'm suspecting the grandmother is the young girl the CEO of Hikura House was rumored to have abused, leading to both the bad leg (and whatever else her clothes are hiding) and to her having had children very young.

This doesn't really work, since the rumour was about the president, not the CEO. The president is the younger one, so he would be Mitsuko's father. The father however is also the one who designed the mansion, not the grandfather.

etc.

Really good points about how the floor plan was drawn from memory and the grandma's possible existing injuries. The grandma would have to be in her 80s for the timeline to work, which seems somewhat unlikely given her appearance but is definitely possible.

I think Shiori being there was just a coincidence, since they could have ended up at Shiori's house if the game of rock paper scissors went the other way. Mitsuko or a servant would have been too embedded in things to serve as a good POV.

 

[Umb3rus]

Look at those legs I am very very normal about this character and may or may not have a stash of all of the official art.

Where would one find the official art...? How do they always look so great??

 

[Hikineet]

Thanks for the chapter.

 

[enhydriodon]

Where would one find the official art...? How do they always look so great??

Usually I get them off twitter, but the mangaka has no account so they're posted by various affiliated sources like the manga publishers and such. There's also the postcard illustrations that come with the special Tsutaya editions of the books, which are only available with watermarks online but people also post photos of them for resale (if I'm insane enough I could buy and scan them...).

I've thought about starting an archive if it would be useful to anyone else.