Episode 5

**Assailed by the Greatest of Trials** is the fifth episode of the Oushitsu Kyoushi Heine anime.

## Summary

Heine talks about the King of Glanzreich, who took the throne at age eighteen and thus became the youngest king in Glanzreich history. He transformed the Glanzreich army into the strongest on the continent, earning him the nickname the "God of War".

In his room at night, Heine finishes writing something before noticing lights outside his window. A knock then comes from his door from the king's butler, who informs him that the King has returned after half a year away, and that he wants to meet him and the princes in his study in the morning. Heine accepts.

The next morning, the butler leads Heine to the King's study. Heine thinks about how nervous he feels on the way there. The butler ushers him into a waiting room, where the princes were already there waiting. Heine remarks that the princes must be happy to meet their father after such a long time, but their tense expressions tell a different story. Bruno explains that they do love and respect their father, and Licht cuts in that it is complicated for them as his sons. Kai, with his big heart, is the only one there who is genuinely happy to see their father, as he believes everyone on the Earth is one big happy family. Leonhard is also reluctant about seeing him. Heine thinks to himself that their reactions are not very strange, since their relationships with their father are also that of a king and his successors, so it must not be ordinary. The butler asks all of them if they are ready, before informing the King that they are ready to see him. The King asks them to come in.

The King, Viktor von Glanzreich, turns to his sons who are standing before him. Bruno is the first to go up and greet him, and his brothers follow suit. Heine also introduces himself as the royal tutor. Heine notices to his shock that Viktor is tearing up. Viktor apologizes and says that he couldn't contain his emotions at seeing his sons greet him like adults. He then starts to cry, causing his flustered children to try to stop him. Bruno informs Heine that this happens every time they see him, and that he was embarrassed about seeing him with his teacher present. Heine thinks about how even the God of War acted like an ordinary father with his sons. Viktor thanks Heine for looking after them. Apparently, they had only known each other through correspondence. He asks if they are getting along with him, and seems to be satisfied with their answers.

After the greetings are over, Viktor gets down to business. He talks about Heine's report, which had stated Kai and Bruno did well on their competency tests. Viktor tells Bruno that he still needs to think flexibly as a leader despite his perfect grades, and that Kai needs to work on his communication skills. He scolds Licht for getting a mediocre mark because he was too lazy to try harder. He then turns to Leonhard, who had the lowest mark of one point, Viktor had been shocked at the mark and the reason behind giving it. Viktor tells Leonhard that this is unacceptable for someone with a claim on the throne and that he must retake the test three days from now and get a score of at least sixty, or his claim to the throne will be stripped from him. He then dismisses them despite their protests.

Back in his room, Leonhard writes in his diaries in despair. Licht tries to comfort him by saying that he dodged a bullet since being a king must be hard work. However, Leonhard is more depressed over disappointing his father than the possibility of losing his claim to the throne. Heine casually says that it was his own fault for chasing out all his tutors. Leonhard seems resigned to his fate, but Heine tells him that it isn't over and that he can still rise up. He promises to do his utmost to help him over these three days. His brothers also promise to help him, even though they are all rivals for the throne. Leonhard is moved and decides to show his father that he can do it. Bruno realizes that they don't know Leonhard's academic level, and they realize to their horror that Leonhard does not know what one-plus-one is when they ask him.

The princes realize that asking Leonhard to retake the test in just three days when he is at this level might be too hard. Heine explains that even though the test covers everything, the arithmetic section has the highest amount of marks. Heine and the princes try their best to get Leonhard to figure out what one-plus-one is before he finally figures out that it equals two. However, even slightly higher levels are impossible for him. The princes try to figure out how to best teach Leonhard. Kai suggests Leonhard does things he doesn't like to do with things he does, and since he likes sports, they could make him run until he solves a problem. However, Heine thinks that is too much like a punishment. Licht suggests that they could write problems across a woman's bosom since that is what he likes, but nobody agrees with that. He also suggests that Bruno could teach him, which Bruno refuses to do as he doesn't believe he could do it better than Heine before Heine lets him do it. However, Leonhard is too impressed by Bruno to listen to what he says. Licht then suggests they make the test the same as last time's and make Leonhard memorize the answers, but Bruno vehemently turns him down and Heine doesn't believe Leonhard has the brainpower to memorize all of them. Heine mentions that he has made some arrangements to better teach Leonhard, and Helene comes in with a plate of torte. To everyone's surprise, Leonhard quickly figures out a math problem when Heine gives him one involving torte. Even he is surprised that he did math. Heine believes that his anxieties about studying causes him to panic when faced with a problem, and that he will be fine if he slowly accustoms himself to it. Leonhard agrees with that. Heine then continues on using torte as an example for problems, which seems to work.

Over the next three days, Heine drills Leonhard in all sorts of subjects, culminating him into earning his highest mark yet of 15 on the practice test. However, it is still far from the sixty points he needs to get. With the test tomorrow, there is no time to study. The princes are worried, and Heine tells them to go back to their rooms. Leonhard is in despair and believes that it is all over. Heine tells him that he learned something from this test, which is that he still has room to grow to earn higher marks, so in that way it is exciting when he gets low marks. This seems to stoke a new determination in Leonhard, and he decides to study through the night. However, Heine tells him to go to sleep.

In the morning, Leonhard does some last minute cramming before going to Viktor's study with Heine to take his test. His brothers are there as well as Leonhard is given a time limit of one hour to take the test. When time's up, Viktor orders Heine to mark his test. Once that is done, Viktor announces that Leonhard has gotten fifty-nine points. All of his brothers are happy that he got such a high mark before Heine reminds them that he didn't get the required sixty. Leonhard braces himself to be abandoned, but Viktor tells Heine that he graded the test incorrectly since he didn't give him one point for writing his name. Viktor congratulates Leonhard on getting sixty points. He says he merely followed Heine's grading method and asks if he wouldn't like to be his student. Leonhard admits that even though he hates teachers, he doesn't hate Heine. Viktor tells him to give all his attention to his studies from now on and to thank Heine as well. Heine accepts but pinches his finger instead of giving him a handshake, returning Leonhard's handshake from when they were in the forest. Leonhard is angered by his cold attitude and his brothers join in the celebration as Viktor looks on with a smile.

At night, Viktor's study gets a visitor: Heine. He asks what he does he want, and Heine holds out a bottle of white wine from NiederGlanzreich, his favorite, as a respite from his duties. Viktor teases him for looking like a child and bringing him wine, but Heine is unamused. Viktor wishes he let him joke since he had to lie Heine says it has been too long since they last drank into the night, then addresses him by his first name. As they drink, Heine thanks him for pushing Leonhard so that he gets the motivation to study. Viktor says that he only wants to build a bright future for his country. Heine knows that, as that was why he came here in the first place. Heine then asks if he still remembers their promise of never revealing his past, as that is his requirement for becoming the royal tutor. Viktor says he does.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Heine Wittgenstein
* King's butler
* Bruno von Glanzreich
* Licht von Glanzreich
* Leonhard von Glanzreich
* Kai von Glanzreich
* Viktor von Glanzreich
* Helene

## Manga and Anime Differences

* The scene where Heine narrates about the King comes after the princes were waiting to meet their father in the study.
* The manga jumps straight to the butler informing Heine about the King's return. The anime has some leadup to that before it happens.